The Fusion Hero: Living Sun
by MoeJesus
Summary: In response to the USJ attack, Principal Nezu accepts a bid to increase security by letting two transfer students join class 1-A. Join these prospective heroes as they try to integrate into the class, the school, and hero society as a whole. (AU) (OC) (Ochako X Izuku) (Crossover elements)
1. Introductions

Chapter 1. Introductions

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

' _English Speech'_

Aizawa leered over class 1-A. He was released from the hospital just this morning after the massive beating he received during the attack at the USJ. He sighed deeply at the students expressing their concern for him, which made the bandages wrapping his head tickle his face. This annoyed Aizawa further as he had no way of scratching himself due to the massive casts adorning both of his arms. He would push through, however, because he was a _professional._

'I should have taken the day off,' He mused to himself. The only reason he had not was because of a couple of rather large announcements he had to make today. Deciding he had silently looked at the class long enough, he began.

"Needless to say, I will be fine," He opened with, Aizawa looked out of the corner of his eye towards the open the door to see a young man and women giving him a thumbs up. He looked back to the class and continued, "Over the long weekend U.A. has been searching for ways to ramp up security. Eventually, a bid was accepted from a United States firm called ' _EMC Armaments'_." Momo Yaoyorozu's ears perked up, and if she hadn't been sitting in the rear of the class, the other students would have noticed the surprised look on her face. "In addition to armed personnel stationed around the campus, two specialists will be joining our class for the foreseeable future as 'transfer students.'" Aizawa watched in disgust as the room erupted in the unmistakable castrophony of high school chatter. "Enough!" He raised his voice, causing everyone to instantly silence. "Wake me up when you finish introducing yourselves," Aizawa directed his voice towards the doorway before curling up into his sleeping bag in the front left corner of the classroom.

Class 1-A fixated silently as two young adults entered the room in U.A. uniforms. Yaoyorozu blanched. The first one who came was of average height and build, a blonde head of hair adorned his crown with clean-shaven sides, fading up to leave only an inch or two on the top, which was brushed off to the left side. He wore a massive grin on his face, as if there were nowhere else in the world he would rather be. His most distinct feature, however, was his jet-black right hand poking out from the cuff of his U.A. sports jacket, which instantly caught the eye of one Izuku Midoriya. 'Does he have a prosthetic arm?' He began his analysis. 'I wonder if it is the result of an injury? Could it be from battle? I wonder what his quirk could be? If he has seen live combat to then he must be very formidable.' Izuku was awoken from his trance be a bang on his desk.

"Quit mumbling, you freak," muttered Katsuki under his breath. Izuku broke out in a ferocious blush as he realised he had begun mumbling out loud, just in time for the second new student to enter.

The next person to enter was a bonafide beauty. She had long white hair down to her waist with her bangs tied into a small ponytail in the front. She too had a broad grin on her face, but one could tell it was a smile she wore often. She was slightly shorter than the man, and it was evident even through her U.A. uniform that she harboured a very curvy and luscious body, especially noticed by one Minoru Mineta, who was now the one mumbling under his breath.

The two new students stood in front of the class and exuded an air of confidence as the man spoke, "it's a pleasure to meet all of you! My name is Eirian Howell. No need to worry about honorifics with me, just Eirian is fine." Eirian then looked over to the women for her to take over.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Mirajane Strauss, it's a pleasure to meet you!" the class could tell that Eirian had a much better grasp on the Japanese language than the one called Mirajane, as she seemed to shakily get through her introduction. Subtle relief adorned Mirajane's face as she looked back at Eirian to continue.

"We are new transfer students here on terms with your principal, Nezu-sensei," He exclaimed, "U.A. has formed a contract my company, _'EMC Armaments,'_ to boost the protection of U.A. and it's students. In exchange for the personnel, we have been allowed to transfer into the hero course here, even though we are above the permitted age to enrol." Eirian motioned towards Mirajane, "Mirajane here is still learning Japanese, and I'm sure you have many questions, so I will answer them to the best of my ability for the both of us," he concluded. Almost every hand in the class shot up.

"Alright then," Eirian chuckled, "Let's start in the front and work our way back." He pointed at Hagakure, "Ask away," he said.

"Hi! Ummm, my name is Hagakure Toru, and I was wondering if I have seen you on tv before? You seem really familiar…." she trailed off.

Eirian smiled, "My company is in the regular news cycle, especially after some work we did with the U.S. Department of defence. My parent company, EMC, is also regularly in the news, we pop up pretty occasionally, so I wouldn't be surprised if you saw us at some point." He finished. He gestured for Ojiro to ask the next question.

"Hi, there! It's nice to meet you!" He began, "isn't EMC that big space mining company? Do you work for them?"

Eirian snickered, "Ah yes, EMC stands for ' _Extraterrestrial Mining Corporation.'_ And yeah, I guess you could say we work for them." He pointed at the next student whose hand was raised.

"Hey there, it's nice to meet both of you, my name is Jirou Kyouka. I was wondering why you are wearing a glove on your hand." The class's eyes shifted to Eirian's hand as he began taking off his coat. Once his jacket was off, he began to roll up the sleeve of his white button-up, revealing that his whole arm had a glossy carbon finish.

"I actually lost my arm when I was little, so now I have this prosthetic," Eirian showed off his arm by wiggling around his fingers and bending his elbow. "I designed it myself!" he stated as he began rolling his sleeve back up, the class looking moderately impressed.

'I guess I was wrong about him losing it in battle,' Izuku thought to himself as he took some notes down. He looked up to notice that Kaminari was now asking a question.

"Yo! I'm Kaminari Denki! You seem pretty old to be a freshman in high school, just how old are you?" He asked.

"We're both seventeen," Eirian said as he finished slipping his arm through the hole of his sport coat, "Hero laws in japan are as tight as a steel trap. The only way we could get certified as pro heroes were if we went through all three years of high school. It's thanks to Nezu-sensei that we were able to transfer at all, especially since we're older," Eirian was already pointing to the next student.

"Hiya! I'm Ashido Mina!" The bubbly girl began, "Mirajane, you have such pretty hair! What products do you use?" Eirian leaned over and whispered something into Mirajane's ear, who flushed with slight pink before whispering back.

"She says she uses a brand called ' _Moroccanoil'_ and that she'd love to talk to you about it after class," spoke Eirian in Mirajane's stead. Knowing she was next in line, Tsuyu began her question before Eirian pointed at her.

"Hello, my name is Asui Tsuyu, and I like to say what's on my mind, gerro. Are you two a couple?" she asked, causing almost every boy to perk up along with a handful of girls.

"We have been dating for about five years now, and together for almost ten." Eirian placed his hand on Mirajane's shoulder, who smiled brightly as many boys in the class drooped like puppets whose strings had been cut.

"I wonder what he could mean by that," Tsuyu pondered as she brought her hand to her chin. Eirian shifted his eyes to one of the deflated males, one with red spikey hair, and met his gaze before he began his question.

"So, are you like a mercenary or something?" The spikey boy asked excitedly, "Oh yeah, I'm Kirishima Eijirou by the way, it's nice to meet you!"

"Ummm I guess you could say I'm a mercenary or something?" Eirian said quizzically.

"Whoa! So manly!" Exclaimed Kirishima. Izuku realised that his hand was the next raised and looked up to see Eirian already looking at him.

"U-Umm Hi! M-My name is Midoriya Izuku, I-I-It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!" Izuku stammered out, "I-If you don't mind me asking, what are your quirks?" He bashfully sputtered.

"No, I don't mind at all!" Eirian said with a reassuring smile. "The million-yen question!" He softly chuckled at his bad joke, "My quirk is called ' _Total Recall,'_ And what it does is allow me to remember anything! Although in truth, it could better be described as the inability to _forget_ anything," he admitted, "I also have a robotic eye that allows me to take in more information than normal," he continued while pointing at his right eye, "Using that for too long makes me really sleepy though, so I try not to use it too often." Eirian motioned over to Mirajane, "Mirajane's quirk is a transformation type quirk called _'Demon Soul'_ Which allows her to transform into four different mighty demons!" Said Eirian excitedly as the entire class blanched.

"Scary," squeaked a brown-haired girl from the back row. After a couple of moments of silence, a certain purple-headed midget piped up.

"What size rack you rock-" The grape boy was cut short by a giant tongue smacking him senseless from all the way across the room.

"Sorry about that, gerro," apologised the girl known as Asui, "He's kind of a filthy scumbag, gerro."

"Oh, that's quite alright," Eirian said as he slowly made his way over to the recovering boy and placed his robotic hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure this little hiccup won't affect our budding friendship? What was your name again? I think I missed it." Eirian began to squeeze the purple boy's shoulder, and he let out a squeak.

"M-My name i-i-is Minoru Mineta." he got out through the pain. "C-C-can y-y-you p-p-p-please let me go?"

"Oh, sorry about that," Eirian released the death-grip on the boy, wearing a grin that was halfway between sweet and sinister. The rest of the class looked in awe at what had just unfolded. Eirian began to stroll back to the front of the class while explaining, "In the American military, we protect from all threats, foreign and domestic. If that means a security problem arises within this very class, I will not hesitate to act," Eirian said in the most severe tone he had used yet. "Now, any final questions?" Only one hand raised, and Eirian motioned for the bespectacled young man to speak.

"Greetings! My name is Iida Tenya! I am the representative of this class!" Iida shot out of his chair to issue his greeting. "My question is this: Your firm is from America, but your name is distinctly Welsh! Are you from the Isles?" Iida finished while waving his arm.

"Ah, yes, a great question," Eirian continued, "My father is Welsh, and my mother is Scottish. I grew up in London and expanded the family business to New York City where it really 'took off,'" he shot Iida a wink and a thumbs-up, "Good catch!"

"Thank you!" Bowed Iida before returning to his seat. Eirian walked over to the motionless sleeping bag and lightly prodded it with the toe of his shoe, "Excuse me, sensei, but we're finished, you can continue with the class now." Aizawa mumbled something inaudible as he crawled out of his sleeping bag.

"You two can sit in those two seats in the back of the room," yawned Aizawa. As Eirian and Mirajane made their way to the rear of the class, he stopped in front of a young women's desk.

"Ah, you are the Yaoyorozu girl, are you not?" Momo's back instantly straightened before she replied,

"Yes, I am Yaoyorozu Momo, daughter of Yaoyorozu Atsuhito," the young women spoke to him in a very proper tone and cadence.

"Yes, of course, how is your father doing?" he asked.

"He is well," she replied bluntly.

"Is he in currently in town?" Eirian asked.

"Yes, sir," another blunt response.

"Well, please let him know I will be dropping by for tea and business tonight."

"Understood."

Eirian and Mirajane continued to their seats directly behind Ochako and Rikidou and began to introduce themselves before Aizawa started teaching again.

Momo could feel a cold sweat break out, and her hands felt incredibly clammy. 'Why is that monster here?' she kept asking herself.

 **That's Chapter one! I hope you all enjoyed it even though it was a bit of an exposition fest, but I think it managed to work itself out organically in the end. This is my first work of fanfiction, and I have had this idea bouncing around in my head for around three years now, so any input you have is much appreciated! I am just about to start up university again, so I don't really know what that means in terms of upload schedule, but I'll try my best to get content out as quickly as possible! Also sorry about the lack of Mirajane this chapter, but I felt like I had to establish the OC first, her time to shine will come! Additionally, this fanfic is going to pull inspiration, references, ideas, and characters from many different anime and forms of media, including but not limited to:**

 **Fairy Tail**

 **Youjo Senki**

 **Fullmetal Alchemist**

 **Soul Eater**

 **Overlord**

 **Diablo (Game)**

 **The West Wing**

 **And many more!**

 **Note: no prior knowledge of any of these media sources are vital to following or understanding this story, think of them more as easter eggs than anything.**

 **This has been your friendly neighbourhood deity, and I'll see you all in the next one!**


	2. Making Waves

Chapter 2. Making Waves

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _'English speech'_

Izuku, Ochako, and Tenya walked through the halls of U.A. on their way to the cafeteria.

"I can't wait to show the world what I've got at the sports festival; I'm pumped up!" Ochako pumped her fist as Izuku's sweat dropped and Tenya encouraged her,

"That's the spirit, Uraraka-san!" He said while waving his arms around, "however, I am surprised that the two transfer students are going to be participating with us."

"Nezu-sensei described it to me as a sort of publicity stunt," came a voice from behind them

"Eeep!" Ochako squeaked as the three friends whipped around to find the source of the sound.

"Ah! Hello there, Howell-san and Strauss-san. My apologies for talking about you both behind your backs!" we bowed while apologising.

"Oh please, call me Eirian!" He began, "and don't worry about it; it's only natural that two new transfer students would cause some discussion in the student body."

"And please call me Mirajane," the young women piped in with a sweet smile on her face.

"Well Eirian and Mirajane, would you like to join us for lunch?" Ochako asked the couple.

"We'd love too!" Eirian said as the two older students joined the group walking down the hall.

"you said earlier that you two participating in the sports festival was a publicity stunt, what did you mean by that?" asked Izuku curiously.

"Well, principal Nezu told us that it is a good way to earn back the trust of the public," Eirian continued, "and since we're new to this country, we need to show the public that we have what it takes to protect the school."

"That makes sense," Izuku thought out loud, "though you two seem strong, isn't it unfair to the rest of the first years for you to participate?"

"A good point to bring up, however Principal Nezu and I have already taken precautions to make things as fair as possible."

"What kind of precautions?" asked Iida as they walked into the cafeteria, Ochako happily chatting with Mirajane.

"Well, most of my combat equipment is designed to be lethal, so Nezu-sensei forbid me from using it against the other students, meaning I should be at a pretty big disadvantage compared to those of you with fighting style quirks," he explained while they got their trays and entered the line to pick up their food. "For Mira, Nezu is only letting her use her weakest transformation, limiting our potential significantly. The only real edge we should have is our teamwork and experience," he finished as they say down with their food.

"How did you and Eirian meet?" Ochako asked while waiting in the salad line with Mirajane as the boys secured them seats.

"He rescued me when I was 11," Mirajane smiled fondly, "He nurtured me back to health, and we have been partners ever since."

"Awww! That's so romantic!" Ochako gushed, "But wouldn't that mean he was eleven when he rescued you? What kind of combat training does that guy have?!" She asked in a concerned voice.

"Oh, that's probably a secret!" Mirajane winked as Ochako's sweatdropped. The two girls made their way the table where the boys sat and had an enjoyable lunch of light-hearted discussion.

The final bell rang signifying the school day was over. While some stayed to chatter with friends, they eventually trickled out, leaving only Eirian and Mirajane.

' _Well Eirian, I think the class was rather impressed with your introduction today,'_ Mirajane smiled at the boy,

 _'So, you don't think I went too far or revealed too much?'_ Eirian asked.

 _'I think you gave the perfect amount, and what you did to that purple brat showed them that you mean business. An excellent job, indeed.'_

 _'Thanks. How's your Japanese coming along? I noticed you and Ochako seemed to get friendly pretty quickly.'_

 _'It's going well. I'm not nearly as proficient as you, but actually being here helps me learn much faster than studying with you,'_ she playfully jabbed.

 _'What is that supposed to mean?'_ Eirian shot back acusingingly, a hurt look was on his face before the two broke out into giggles.

 _'Well as fun as today was, Sebas is probably outside waiting for us,'_ Eirian rose from his seat and offered his hand to Mirajane.

 _'What a gentleman!'_ Mirajane continued to poke fun. They both chuckled as they left the 1-A classroom.

As Tenya, Izuku, Ochako, and Tsuyu left the high school together, they noticed Momo waiting for her chauffeur by herself, and they began walking towards her.

"Hey, Yaomomo!" Ochako began as she ran up to greet her friend. Momo jumped out of her skin when she heard the loud noise, it was apparent that she was on edge.

"Wow, are you okay, Yaoyorozu-san?' Izuku asked in a concerned voice, "you seem really stressed out about something."

"Yeah, I'll be okay," Momo began, "probably just a lack of sleep." Her friends didn't seem convinced, but Ochako continued anyways,

"So, what do you think about the transfer students? Isn't Mirajane sooooo pretty?" Asked Ochako innocently.

"Ah, yes," Momo forced out, "she's stunning."

"Speaking of which," Tenya entered the conversation, "didn't Eirian stop at your desk to talk to you? Do you know him from somewhere?

"Well, I guess you could say he's business partners with my father," she replied uneasily, "He's always really intimidated me," Momo muttered softly.

"What are you talking about?" Ochako smiled, "They both seemed really nice! Not to mention Eirian really put Mineta in his place today!" she said excitedly.

"I-I suppose so," Momo said shyly. 'Maybe he really has changed,' Momo thought to herself. 'I guess it's pretty rude of me to pass judgement on someone I haven't seen in years,' she reassured herself as the chauffeur rolled up in a limousine. Momo was about to make her way to the limo until an unfamiliar man stepped out of the driver's seat. A tall, well-built butler emerged with neat grey hair and a well-kept grey beard. Momo recognised him as one of the men who worked with Eirian and became frozen with fear. Not moving though had been the wrong move; however, as the man had already locked eyes with her and was heading Momo's way.

"Greetings, you are the young Yaoyorozu ojou-sama, are you not?" the man asked in a soft but stern voice.

"Yes, I am, you're one of Eirian's butlers, aren't you?" She asked. Before the man had a chance to answer a voice behind her spoke up.

"that's right! This is Sebas, and he is the Howell household's head butler," Eirian said as he seemingly appeared out of thin air, Mirajane slightly in tow. Momo jolted in fear again.

"I really rather dislike when you use that silly trick on unsuspecting people," Momo chastised quietly.

"Sorry about that, I guess old habits die hard," Eirian admitted while rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry to make you wait, Sebas, won't happen again," Eirian directed his attention to the man.

"Not at all, young master, take as much time as you need," Sebas said as he brought his hand to his chest and bowed slightly.

"Yeah, yeah," Eirian dismissed the gesture, his attention back on Momo. "Well Yaoyorozu-can, as much as I love our conversations, I'm afraid I must prepare for the meeting with your father tonight. Have a nice evening," Eirian waved goodbye to Momo and the other students as Sebas opened the doors for him and Mirajane to enter the limo. Once they were in, Sebas got back into the driver's seat and drove away. The moment they left Momo's chauffeur pulled up. She too bid farewell to her friends, and they waved back. Once she had left the remaining four students began working their way towards the train station.

"How did he sneak up on us without us noticing? Gerro. Tsuyu pondered allowed.

"Yeah that's was quite the surprise! He really got the jump on us!" Tenya praised.

"Mirajane was telling me at lunch today that he has quite the combat training," Ochako informed the others, "maybe he has been trained to sneak up on people really quietly?" she offered her potential explanation.

"Perhaps," Izuku pulled out his notebook and began writing in it. "although to be able to sneak up on us like that in broad daylight and no cover is quite the accomplishment," he surmised.

The group continued discussing the day's events until they went their separate ways at the train station.

Later that evening a very luxurious white convertible pulled up to the Yaoyorozu estate. The butler known as Sebas opened the doors for his young masters to step out of the car. Eirian wore a dark navy suit with brown dress shoes and a red tie. He wore a gaudy gold wristwatch on his left wrist and his white dress shirt hand golden cufflinks with the design of gears on them.

Mirajane wore a modest white blouse with a navy skirt, cream coloured heels on her feet. She wore her hair up in a bun and had on a pair of black reading glasses. Her ears held two diamond-studded earrings, and she wore a slick golden watch on her right wrist.

"Thanks for the ride, Sebas," Eirian said as he gave the butler a pat on the arm. "we'll be back in a few hours, don't work yourself too hard, alright?"

"Thank you, young master," Sebas bowed.

As the duo made their way to the front door of the mansion, two Yaoyorozu household butlers opened the large double doors for them, the one on the right speaking to Eirian, "Good Evening sir, master Yaoyorozu is in his study on the second floor, and we will lead you there shortly. First, however, what kind of tea to you fancy?" the butler asked politely.

Eirian looked over to Mirajane so that she could tell the butler her preference.

"Do you have Silver Tips Imperial?" she asked sweetly.

"Of course, ma'am," the butler bowed. "and for you, sir?"

"You wouldn't happen to have Gorreana Broken Leaf Black, would you?"

"but of course, I will bring it up to master's study as soon as it's ready," he bowed again and excused himself out of the room as the butler on the left approached the couple.

"Please follow me to the master's study," he said as he turned and led the two up the stairs. Once they were at the top of the staircase, the butler led them down the corridor to a door on the left. The butler knocked on the door three times, and shortly after the third knock, a voice came from within.

"Enter," said the voice. The butler opened the door for Eirian and Mirajane, and they walked into the incredibly lavish office. On the left was a mahogany bookshelf filled with texts that went from floor to ceiling across the entire wall. On the right were a small marble hearth and some expensive-looking paintings. Twenty feet from the door was a gorgeous mahogany desk with a middle-aged Japanese man sitting at the helm. As soon as he saw Eirian enter the room, he began to stand, but Eirian raised his hand to stop him.

"There will be no need for that today, Atsuhito," Eirian said as the man took his seat,

"Then what brings you today?" the man asked, leaning back in his chair as he motioned for the two to take a seat. Eirian and Mirajane each took a seat on a pair of red velvet seats placed in front of the desk, and the other butler arrived to bring the two their tea. Eirian took a sip of the tea and let out a satisfied sigh.

"I'm here today to check on the status of our shared assets," Eirian took another sip as Atsuhito reverted to sitting up as straight as a board as he said,

"Ah, so it's about _that_ then." he pulled a key out and unlocked one of the drawers in his desk as he explained. "all of our assets have been successfully transferred," he pulled out a manila folder and placed it on the counter. "All of the contract info you need is in this folder." He slid the envelope towards Eirian who nodded, prompting Mirajane to pluck it off the desk.

"Thank you Atsuhito, your company's assistance in transferring EMC out of the U.S. has been immeasurable, and extremely commendable considering the circumstances of the acquisitions."

"You are very welcome, I only wish more members of higher society have the foresight to see how beneficial your mission is for all walks of life."

"Alas, it proves to be an ever more difficult task," Eirian sighed, "especially after _the incident._ "

"Then we shall just have to work harder to make sure that everything is in line," assured Atsuhito.

"Man, I really love that Japanese work ethic," Eirian said while Atsuhito puffed his chest slightly.

Was there anything else you wanted to discuss?" Atsuhito asked.

"Yes, let us discuss our next moves."

A few hours later Mirajane and Eirian were leaving the office and exchanging final pleasantries with the Yaoyorozu patriarch and joined back up with the fist butler who was responsible for escorting them back to their car. As they made their way down the grand staircase, Mirajane had her arm locked with Eirian's, with her other hand lightly holding his robotic arm. Upon approaching the front door, someone was standing in their way. Momo stood defiantly with her arms crossed and made the couple stop, the butler adopting an anxious face.

' _I know what you did during the American-Mexican war last year.'_ Momo said with venom on her lips, _'I overheard my father talking about it on the phone.'_ The effects of these words were subtle but immediate. Mirajane's signature smile faded for a distinctly neutral look, but her hand on Eirian's arm began to turn white with the amount of pressure she was squeezing him. She glanced over at him with worry in her eyes, but Eirian's poker face remained unwavering, even as the corners of his lips slowly began to curl up.

 _"_ Then you must know that EMC Armaments has been wiped from all blame of the tragedy," he exclaimed coolly. "And furthermore, the events of those weeks have left me a completely changed man, I'm trying to be a hero now! Save people, stop bad guys!" Mirajane's grip on him loosened, "The focus of my company and me rests squarely on the betterment of mankind, we are the largest employer in the world after all!" He then adopted a much darker tone. "This includes your father, of course," He stated simply.

This less-than-empty threat was not missed by Momo, who was terrified. She quickly stood aside and allowed the couple to pass. As they left the mansion, Momo was left swirling in her own thoughts. She returned to her room to mull it over some more and finally concluded, 'There's nothing I can do to stop him,' the realisation hit her like a truck when she found that her entire family's fate was in the hands of Eirian.

 **Thanks, everyone for reading! Next chapter will begin the sports festival arc, and while I have good ideas for the tournament portion of the arc, I'm still mulling over how I'm going to handle the first two challenges. Make sure to leave a review with anything you like!**

 **This has been your friendly neighbourhood deity, and I'll see you all in the next one!**


	3. The Debut

Chapter 3: The Debut

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _'English speech'_

The night before the sports festival was a restless one for every student of class 1-A. All of whom had been preparing feverously in the days leading up to their debut in the sports festival. Not even a peaceful sleep was had at the Howell estate, where Eirian woke up in a cold sweat. He slowly came to his senses and calmed down enough to realise that Mirajane was hugging him tightly.

 _"Are you back with us?"_ She asked, her voice hitching as if she had been crying.

 _"Yeah, I think so,"_ Eirian replied.

 _"That was the worst one in weeks, you need to take it off,"_ Stated Mirajane, unwrapping herself from Eirian and wiping the tears from her face with the sleeve of her nightgown. Eirian had apparently been struggling with night terrors ever since his quirk manifested, but all Mirajane knew was that she didn't start noticing them until after what happened in Mexico. She couldn't imagine how hard it must be for him to remember every fine detail of everything he has been through, and those prosthetics only make it worse for him. It's almost like the mental strain of using them for too long makes him even more susceptible to these nightmares. As skilled as it makes him, she sometimes wished he could experience life normally.

 _'I will take it off after today,'_ Eirian looked at the clock, and it was only fifteen minutes before the two of them usually prepared for school, so he decided to just get ready now.

Can you let Yuri know we are getting up early? I need to go freshen up," he said as he got out of the bed into the large empty room.

"Of course," Mirajane replied while reaching for the phone to call the maid.

Eirian crawled out of his robe and hobbled into the shower. When Mirajane was finished letting Yuri know to start up breakfast and send up some maids, she began brushing her teeth and combing her hair over the marble vanity in the master bathroom. When Eirian was done, Mira handed him his towel and left the bathroom to greet the maids. Eirian wrapped the towel around his waist and brushed his teeth before joining Mirajane and the maids in the dressing room. A maid named Nabe was helping Mirajane change into her school uniform, and another maid named Lupu was on standby waiting for Eirian to arrive.

 _'Sorry for making you wait, Lupu,'_ Eirian offered his apology as he switched out his black arm for a metallic silver one.

 _'It is nothing, sir. Please, let us get you changed into your uniform,'_ Lupu bowed. The maids and their masters all made small talk while dressing them for school and while they made their way downstairs to the dining room. In the dining room sat a 36-person long table made from pure ebony wood. A light breakfast was set for the two young adults across from each other on the near side of the table. They began eating and strategising about the sports festival.

 _'So, since we watched the last ten years of sports festivals, what are your predictions for this year?'_ Eirian asked Mirajane, interested in what she came up with.

 _'Well, the first thing I noticed was that save for the tournament that always finishes out the festival, the school has never repeated the first two events, meaning they intend to throw people like us off.'_ She continues, _'However, I was able to pick up on the fact that the first two events are almost always some sort of 'heroic' spin on regular high school field day and track events. Things like dodgeball and races, only modified so that students can use their quirks to excel._

 _'Very good,'_ Eirian praised. _'Did you notice anything about the first event versus the second event?'_

 _'Yes, the first event has been reliably a solo event, but people who perform as teams almost always perform better, when they don't explicitly disallow working as a team. As for the second event, they always mandate teams, where you have to choose a small group of people to work with.'_

 _'very good, very good. A well-done job indeed,'_ Eirian nodded his head in approval. _'you got the broad idea very well; would you like to know the events for this year?'_ He asked with a coy smile on his face.

 _'How did you find out?'_ Mirajane asked, half expecting there to be some profound way Eirian deduced what the events were going to be.

 _'A little birdie told me,'_ Said Eirian with a wink.

 _'Oh my God, you broke into the school.'_ Eirian shrugged and said

 _'Gotta make sure my skills don't get rusty somehow!'_ He chucked while pulling out a portfolio and sifting through its contents.

 _'More like your dad's skills,'_ Mirajane pouted lightly.

 _'Everyone knows a good spy uses every tool at their disposal,'_ he half-heartedly argued.

 _'Whatever,'_ Mirajane rolled her eyes at her partner's lame excuse. _'So, what did you find out?'_ Eirian seemed to find whatever page he was looking for and handed it across the table to Mirajane who began to look it over.

 _'Looks like the first event will be an obstacle course around the stadium, so we don't have to worry about that. The better you do though put you at a disadvantage on the second task, which is a cavalry battle with teams of two to four. After that is the tournament, of course.'_ Eirian explained.

 _'Interesting,' Mirajane brought her hand up to her chin and began to ponder, 'how early do you want to stand out? Doing well on either of the first two events worries me if we want to avoid becoming a target.'_

 _'Great observation,'_ Eirian praised, _'I think we should aim for the middle of the pack for the first two events and then blow them away in the tournament. What are your thoughts on that?'_

 _'Sounds perfect. We should probably get moving, though, we can discuss strategy more on the ride to school.'_ Mirajane placed her napkin on her plate, and the maids began cleaning up.

The Howell estate limousine pulled up to the drop off location for U.A. High School right as the duo were putting the final touches on their plan.

 _'Aizawa said that we were to meet in the stadium instead of the classroom today,'_ Eirian said while walking through security, some of his guards awkwardly saluting him in the chaos that was the media trying to get their bags checked. As they made their way through the food stands they saw many pro heroes, including Kamui Woods, who Eirian had taken an interest in. When they finally made it to the waiting room and got changed into their gym uniform, Izuku approached Eirian and Mirajane with a puzzled look on his face.

"Where is your black arm?" Izuku asked, gesturing towards the shiny silver prosthetic he was wearing.

"Remember how I said Nezu-sensei is making me limit my fighting ability so that I don't hurt anyone too badly?" Izuku nodded, "Well, this is the less-than-lethal model of my arm."

"How many different models do you have?" Ochako walked up while picking up on the conversation. Eirian glanced at Mirajane as he said,

"Oh, I don't know, a couple, a few, maybe?"

"What an ambiguous answer!" Ilda waved his arms, noticing his friends' conversation. "Oh right," Ilda turned his attention to the whole class, "We will be entering the stadium shortly! Everyone finish your final preparations!"

Class 1-A made nervous conversation as they made their way through the entrance tunnel, already hearing Present Mic's voice booming throughout the stadium.

"Man, the way Todoroki declared war on Deku was terrifying," Ochako whispered to Mirajane, who absentmindedly nodded in agreement. As the freshmen entered the main floor of the stadium, the crowd exploded, and Present Mic's announcing made the crowd even more hyped for the students. Midnight then took over as she got the group ready for the player pledge, and Eirian couldn't help but giggle at the chaos resulting in Bakugou's horrifying proclamation. Finally, Midnight announced the obstacle race, and while the other students began pushing themselves toward the gate that acted as the starting line, Mirajane and Eirian opted to hang near the rear of the pack. As soon as the buzzer went off, all the students piled into the tight corridor, so Mirajane and Eirian began walking.

 _'How does tenth place sound?'_ Eirian asked with his hands leisurely sitting in his pockets.

 _'Sounds good to me!'_ Mirajane smiled as she sprouted black, bat-like wings from her back. Mirajane then hopped onto Eirian's back piggyback-style, and as soon as he had a good grip, she began to fly at a moderate pace towards the exit of the stadium. Since they were in the air, Todoroki's attack was deemed ineffective against the flying duo, and they soon found themselves near the front of the pack.

 _'Might want to check our pace a bit, don't want to get too far ahead,'_ Eirian warned.

 _'Understood'_ Mirajane lessened her speed to allow some of the other students to catch up. Throughout the rest of the competition, they continued to act as silent observers, Eirian taking mental notes on how the rest of the students were using their quirks.

 _'See those robots up ahead?'_ Eirian asked Mira.

 _'Oh yeah, aren't those EMC mining robots?'_

 _'Yeah, I sold them to the school a few years ago to help get into the Japanese market. Looks like they modified them for battle.'_

 _'Well now look at us! We might as well be based in Japan!'_ Commented Mirajane. Eirian chuckled in agreement.

'I wonder why Izuku hasn't used his quirk yet?' Eirian pondered as the green-haired boy flung himself into first place using mines that he dug up. 'He's really clever though, I will have to add him to the list.' He concluded. As the obstacle course contestants began to finish, Eirian was pleased to notice that he and Mirajane placed tenth and eleventh, right behind Kirishima and right in front of a student form class 1-B named Tetsutetsu. Eirian walked up to Izuku who was talking to Uraraka and praised, "That was really cool, Midoriya-san! Way to clinch first place!"

"Oh, it was nothing," Izuku blushed. "I just got really lucky." Just as they began discussing the other participants, Midnight announced the next challenge: The Cavalry Battle.

"Ara, ara, looks like we only have 335 points between the two of us," Mirajane commented to Eirian as their fifteen-minute planning period began. Eirian looked at her before bursting out into laughter.

 _'Did you just say 'ara, ara'?'_ He asked through his giggles.

 _'What's wrong with that?'_ Mirajane pouted. _'It seemed like a cool thing to say.'_

 _'Oh, it's just adorable that you're already picking up on Japanese mannerisms. It fits your character very well,'_ Mirajane lightly blushed.

 _'On a serious note,'_ Eirian pretended to wipe a tear from his eye, _'We should be fine as long as we don't go for the ten-million-_ _point_ _ribbon, so we'll just cherry-pick the lower-ranked students.'_

 _'Sounds good to me.'_ Mirajane affirmed.

After the fifteen minutes of planning the event had begun. As expected, nearly every team was on the offensive against Izuku, leaving themselves wide open for attack. Eirian sat on top of Mirajane's shoulders, and simply used diversion tactics and extended his metallic hand like a grappling hook to yank away other team's bands. When it came to defence Mira flew away and used a combination of her long claws and Eirian's arm to keep aggressors at bay. Before they knew it the fifteen minutes allotted for the challenge was up, with Mirajane and Eirian collecting enough points to continue onto the final round.

The remaining contestants were in the waiting room. Mirajane was chatting with Ochako, Izuku and Ilda while Eirian began working his way around chatting with everyone. As it appeared, he was simply exchanging pleasantries, but his real goal was to talk to Bakugou.

Katsuki didn't know what to think of Eirian, and his uncertainty grew, even more, when Eirian walked up and began chatting him up. The attention was extremely irritating to him, but he wanted to know more about Eirian, almost as much as Eirian seemed to want to know about him, so he decided to humour the shiny armed man. What really puzzled the explosion fanatic was how little combat prowess Eirian has demonstrated so far in school, never participating in the live exercises, and making it this far in the festival almost solely on Mirajane's strength. 'They made this guy in charge of security for the school?' He couldn't help but wonder. Either way, Katsuki hoped that he would be facing Eirian in battle, whether that was because he expected an easy win or because he wanted a good and proper fight was up for debate.

Eventually, Present Mic's voice erupted into the waiting room to announce the bracket for the students. 'Looks like I'll be smashing round-face,' Katsuki thought when he noticed he would be up against Uraraka. 'And it looks like Eirian is against….. Mirajane?!" He was shocked, and when he looked around the room, he saw many more shocked looks. In fact, the only two people in the room to keep their composure were the two that everyone's attention was now on.

Mirajane smiled inwardly. 'Looks like Eirian gets a bye,' Mirajane thought while making her way towards the Referees to disqualify herself. Before she could leave the room, however, someone grabbed onto her arm. She looked behind and was not surprised to see Eirian. What did surprise her, though, was the sinister grin on his face.

"How about we settle this the old-fashioned way?" He grinned eerily. Mirajane adopted a similar, sadistic smile.

"Oh, it's on," she challenged as a dark aura consumed the both of them and the rest of the contestants looked on in horror.

 **Thank you, everyone, for reading! This one was a bit tough to get out because I didn't have that many ideas for the transition into the tournament, but rest assured, I have a lot of great ideas for the battles! A few excellent reveals too, so stay tuned! The fight coming up was one of the first battles that inspired me to write this, so I hope you enjoy it. After this arc, I will be able to use Eirian more interestingly too because of the reveals coming up, so the story should pick up as well.**

 **This has been your friendly neighbourhood deity, and I'll see you in the next one!**


	4. Omake: The Mexican Incident

**-TOP SECRET-**

 **United States Department of Defense Incident Report**

 **Incident Identification Number:** EMC78542

 **Incident Codenames:** The Mexican Twilight, The Siege of Guadalajara, The battle of Guadalajara

 **Location:** Guadalajara, Mexico

 **Dates of Incidents:** XX-XX-XXXX - XX-XX-XXXX

 **Length of Incident (If Applicable):** 0 days, 13 hours, 24 minutes

 **Involved Parties:** EMC Armaments, United States Army, United States Air Force, United Army of Mexico, Mexican Civilians

 **Allied Casualties:** 15

 **Enemy Military Casualties:** ~2,000-2,500

 **Enemy Civilian Casualties:** ~450,000-500,000

 **Incident Description:** As the full siege of Guadalajara passed from weeks to months, and with multiple incidents with the Air Force causing a poor public perception of the war with Mexico, The U.S. DOD contracted EMC Armaments to bring a quick end to the siege by any means necessary. EMC Armaments sent (9) quirk users and began an insurgency alone in the city. 0 days, 13 hours, and 24 minutes later, the Mexican government agreed to unconditional surrender, ending the American Mexican War. The involvement of EMC Armaments is **TOP SECRET CONDITIONAL** , and by special conditions of the chairman ( **EIRIAN HOWELL** ) all involvement of EMC Armaments has been wiped from the public and private record.

 **-END REPORT-**


	5. The Subjugation

Chapter 4: The Subjugation

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _"English speech"_

After the close win by Midoria, and the domination by Todoroki, the stadium should have been filled with excited energy, but an oppressive atmosphere filled the stands as the next two students entered the arena. Killing intent radiated off of the two students the likes of which not even some of the pro heroes had ever seen. For the students, the noise of present Mic's announcing wholly drowned out as they approached each other in the centre of the arena. The countdown Marking beginning of the match finished as they were still walking, and when they met in the middle, they glared at each other.

 _"you've never beaten me before, what makes you think today will be different?"_ Eirian boasted

 _"Twice the pride, double the fall,"_ Mirajane shrugged and smirked.

 _"movie quotes? A woman of your talents?"_ Eirian quipped back.

 _"This is where the fun begins,"_ Mirajane took a battle stance and held up her fist. Eirian took a similar position as they both brought their fists down together. Mirajane held her hand in a fist while Eirian held his out flat. The nervous energy in the stands instantly morphed into pure confusion, and Mira slumped and walked out of bounds of the arena. Midnight uneasily announced,

"Howell-san advances to the second round!" the crowd below slowly began clapping for the unconventional victor as the next contestants entered the stage.

Eirian watched the next rounds of combat with great interest, taking mental notes while Mirajane took conventional notes beside him. _"That Hatsume girl seems to have some good ideas floating around in there"_ Eirian looked to Mirajane for her impressions.

 _"If you like her so much, add her to the list,"_ she said, not even looking up from her notes of the previous battle. Eirian sighed and pulled out his phone to add her when Midoriya came up and sat next to Eirian. Eirian quickly put his phone away and smiled and the boy.

"what's up, Midoriya-san?" Eirian asked while Izuku finished taking his seat.

"Hey Howell-san, I was wondering if I could get some advice," Izuku looked troubled.

"Only if you call me Eirian," Eirian looked and Izuku with a coy look on his face. Izuku blushed and looked away as he said,

"Sorry…. Eirian."

"Don't worry about it!" Eirian exclaimed while putting a hand on Izuku's shoulder. "What can I do for you?"

"We-well you see, my next round is against Todoroki-san, and I was wondering if you had any tips?"

"hmmm," Eirian began scratching his chin as he pondered, "I can't say I know much at all about your quirk since you haven't really used it yet, but Todoroki is very powerful. What was all of that before the games when he declared you as his rival?"

"O-oh, th-that," Izuku sputtered out. "I don't really know what that was…" he trailed off as if he were deep in thought, something Eirian took mental note of. "I guess, I'm trying to help him see that he can use his quirk without feeling like his dad, you see, his dad is kind of a jerk to him, and so he refuses to use his dad's side of his quirk."

Eirian nodded and shrugged "I can't really give advice unless I know what your quirk is, and you haven't used it yet," Eirian carefully eyed Izuku awaiting a response.

"Well, I guess you could say my quirk is very self-destructive. I still don't know how to use it very well." Eirian's eyes lit up.

"When did it manifest?" He leaned into the conversation, where before he was only paying half-attention.

"U-umm a handful of months before the entrance exam, I guess," Izuku looked nervous as Eirian increased his intensity.

"Interesting," Eirian looked at Mira to make sure she was paying attention to this too. "Well, I'm glad I could help," Eirian told Izuku as his queue to leave them be. Izuku wished his friends goodbye and went to the warm-up room, thinking,

'He didn't give me any advice at all!'

The rounds continued as usual, and Eirian continued to take note of Bakugou, who laid waste to Uruaraka, and Todoroki, against whom Izuku put up a great fight. Before he knew it, he was up against the class president, Tenya Iida.

Mirajane finished getting Eirian warmed up and gave him a kiss on the cheek before he left

 _"Don't hurt him too bad now,"_ Mirajane gave a mischievous grin. Eirian returned the smile,

 _"I'll do my best,"_ and he was off.

The crowd was full of excited chatter to finally see the new student in action after the anti-climactic first battle, but when he entered the arena, a chill went down everyone's spine. Eirian walked to the starting position right on time, for Iida to have beaten him there 'Figues he would come out early' Eirian mused as the countdown began.

As soon as the battle began, Iida attempted to flank Eirian with his Recipro Burst. Eirian calmly watched as the glasses clad student was barreling towards him. Eirian tried to block but was taken aback by the amount of force applied by Iida's kick, and found himself tumbling towards the edge of the arena. He sprawled out and was able to use the friction of the ground to prevent himself from leaving the field. While he laid there, he saw Iida once again running for him at full-speed. As Eirian was just about to be kicked back, he rolled out of the way and as Iida rushed by him used his arm to grapple on one of Iida's legs. The filament used to connect the hand to the wrist was threading out at an incredible pace, and as Eirian began to run out of thread, he began to pivot on his left foot, using the centrifugal force to launch Iida out of the arena. "Howell-san advances to the semi-finals!" Midnight announced as Eirian was feeding the filament back into his arm and re-attaching his hand. Eirian made his way over to Iida to make sure he was okay, but the lad was already standing.

"That was incredible, Howell-san! I had no idea you could do that with your hand!" Iida complimented his opponent.

"Ah, but I used it in the previous round. Have got to make sure you keep your eyes opened to any potential enemy abilities," Eirian winked and pointed at his robotic right eye. The two students continued chatting friendly as they walked out of the stadium and into the stands where their classmates were waiting for them. Eirian looked at Mira expectantly, and she gave him a small nod is a response, followed by Eirian nodding back as he took his seat next to her.

The semi-finals were fast approaching as Eirian and Mirajane were huddled in the corner of the waiting room wildly working on Eirian's arm

 _"If only that stubborn kid would use his flames, then we wouldn't have a problem,"_ Eirian mumbled to himself as he furiously screwed an unseen contraption in his arm.

 _"Are you sure the arm will hold up?"_ Mirajane asked the boy while handing him a tiny wrench.

 _"You know what it means if it doesn't, right?"_ Eirian spoke through clenched teeth as he bit a wire to strip it.

 _"Are you ready for that possibility?"_ Mirajane asked in a concerned voice.

 _"I guess I'll have to be."_ The student continued to work on his arm in fervour as some other students watched from afar.

"I bet he's going to get his ass kicked," Bakugou mocked to no one in particular.

"It would be unwise to underestimate him," Todoroki stated flatly.

"Whatever, icy-hot," Bakugou kicked his chair back out of boredom.

The first round of the semi-finals was finally upon the hopeful heroes, and the stadium dwellers were jumping out of their seats to see the students duke it out. Present Mic and Aizawa finished announcing the students and Midnight officially began the match. Eirian looked very stressed out as Todoroki's first wave of ground-level ice made his way to him. The man reeled back his prosthetic arm and punched the oncoming ice with as much force as he could muster when the ice shattered into a fine powder. "It's snowing in the stadium, what incredible power!" Present Mic announced over the speakers. A strange chill went down Todoroki's spine, as he uncharacteristically locked up in what he could only describe as dread. This pause in function was the perfect opening for Eirian to bolt forward and deliver a boosted punch straight to Todoroki's chest. Before he could even register what had happened, Todoroki found himself dazed, confused, and very much out of bounds of the arena. After a short, stunned silence permeated the stadium, the crowd erupted with cheers.

"Amazing! A win in less than 10 seconds!" Present Mic announced. In the stands, Mirajane was politely clapping as the rest of 1-A sat in shock

"How did he defeat him so quickly? I was sure Todoroki was going to put up more of a fight, and why didn't he try to avoid Eirian's punch? It was almost like he was frozen there… and how did Eirian's punch destroy Ttodoroki-san's ice?" Izuku began to mumble as he pulled out his notepad

"I suppose it's okay if I answer some of that," Mira looked to Izuku with a pleasant smile on her face. "Eirian set his arm to vibrate at the same frequency as ice so that he could easily destroy the ice when he came in contact with it, and the reason Todoroki froze up is that Eirian used the same vibrations in his arm to generate what he calls the 'fear frequency.' It's an extraordinarily high-pitched and directional sound that can freeze anyone in their tracks, even if only for a moment." She exclaimed as Izuku scribbled notes madly. Mira looked around and noticed that Bakugou was not in the area. A good thing, she thought, as she expected Eirian would be facing him in the finals.

Unsurprisingly, Bakugou wiped the floor with Tokoyami and had an easy path to the finals. The prep room before the finals held a tense atmosphere as Bakugou calmly sat while Eirian feverishly tinkered with his arm in the corner of the room. About 10 minutes before the match was set to start Eirian abruptly stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Bakugou alone. As the time grew ever closer to the start of the match Bakugou too made his way towards the arena.

As Bakugou entered the stadium proper, he saw Eirian's back, sitting at his starting point with his gym coat draped over his shoulders. As he walked to his starting position, the crowd began to get riled up as Eirian slowly stood, allowing his jacket to fall to the ground. Though he was still wearing a wife-beater style undershirt, the full sight of him was getting mixed reactions from around the stadium. While the more excitable females in the crowd blushed, the more observant saw an entirely black right shoulder where the silver arm connected. Those sitting in close enough seats even got slightly uncomfortable at the numerous unsightly scars that covered almost every inch of revealed skin.

In the stands sitting with the other students, Mirajane just rolled her eyes, 'what a show-off,' she chuckled to herself.

Eirian slowly turned to face Bakugou as the countdown played. As soon as the round started Bakugou unleashed a flurry of intense offensive strikes. The crowd cheered and booed as Eirian was instantly forced onto the defensive, and while he was able to avoid a majority of the blasts, a few scorch marks found their way onto Eirian's exposed skin. After one particularly sloppy punch by Bakugou, Eirian finally countered with a strong punch of his own, aimed right at the other student's liver. The impact made Bakugou buckle over, but as Eirian punched, he was able to get a hold of the robotic arm. The explosive expert unloaded all of the firepower he could into the appendage before Eirian could escape, and by the time he did, it was too late.

Eirian looked down at his crippled limb and clutched it with his other hand. He hissed as he searched under his armpit for the release. Bakugou was coming for him again, so he had to act fast. The next thing Bakugou knew he had a flash of silver flying for his face. He narrowly avoided it as it whizzed past. Turning around, he saw Eirian's discarded arm convulsing on the ground before exploding in a cloud of thick smoke.

Bakugou looked slowly opened his eyes after the explosion and saw nothing but the smoke, limiting his vision to only a couple of metres. The first thing he noticed was that the smoke hurt neither his lungs or his eyes. Carefully looking around Eirian was nowhere to be seen. Less than a moment had passed when a strange popping sound filled his ears, once every few seconds. The noise was very unnatural, like a cross between a whip cracking and a balloon popping. Every time he heard the sound, he would turn towards it, searching for the source.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines, Midnight was frantically trying to see what was going on inside the smoke so that she could see if she needed to intervene, but to no avail. In the stands, people began getting restless as a dull roar filled the stadium as spectators began to speculate what was happening.

Bakugou was getting desperate to escape the fog and began to wildly throw explosive punches towards the source of the strange sound whenever he heard it. The hair on his neck suddenly stood on end as he looked behind him and was met with a glowing red eye only feet away from where Bakugou stood. In a flash, the fog dissipated as Eirian landed a devastating kick to Bakugou's stomach. In reflex, Bakugou grappled Eirian's leg and unloaded an overwhelming amount of firepower onto the appendage. The sound filled Bakugou's eardrums yet again, and Eirian instantly vanished. Looking up at the recently cleared arena, Bakugou felt fear. Calmly walking towards him was a one-armed monster, and on the leg that should be covered in severe burns, showed only a magnificent metallic sheen through the fresh burn holes of the gym clothes. With another pop, Bakugou was hit with another kick before he could fully grasp the situation and was sent flying towards the edge of the stage. Bakugou couldn't even get up before the next pop, this kick sending him up in the air. A final pop found Eirian axe kicking Bakugou's back from above, who quickly lost consciousness upon hitting the ground with a gruesome thud.

The arena was incredibly silent but erupted into a roar as Midnight announced Eirian as the winner. Eirian sat down and disconnected the robotic limb from his body, having taken massive damage from the last kick. Mirajane flew down immediately and helped him up as he wrapped his remaining arm around her shoulders to limp to the waiting room.

After the battle for third place, which Todoriki won handily, was the awards ceremony. All Might worked his way up from third to first, giving some words of encouragement along with a hug. When he reached Eirian, he noticed his incredibly gaudy golden prosthetic arm and leg, bitter scorn worn by the owner of the limbs in sharp contrast to the shining brilliance. All Might gave his hug, which Eirian returned as the number one hero whispered: "Thank you for holding back."

"Don't mention it," Eirian responded with a forced smile. All Might wondered why the young man could be under stress but deemed the current environment inappropriate to inquire about such things.

Before the students knew it, they were already finding their way home, and Eirian was pouting in the back seat of an unmarked black sedan with Mirajane.

"I warned you that you'd have to use it," Mirajane stated.

"I know, it's always hard to lose a trump card, that's what I get for being so reckless. I could have won it without Blink if I had been more careful. Now I'm going to have to entertain questions from the class, especially Midoria," Eirian sighed.

"Because you don't have enough trump cards as it is," Mirajane rolled her eyes at her partner. The two rode back to the estate in silence.

 _ **Two weeks prior**_

"Good morning, Principal Nezu, may I ask why you have requested my presence?" Eirian politely asked.

"Good morning, Eirian!" Principal Nezu excitedly stated, "Did you know our yearly sports festival is coming up in two weeks?" Nezu asked.

"Yes, I have heard some of the students begin talking about it," Eirian replied.

"Great! Will you be participating?" Nezu eyed the young man carefully.

Taken by surprise, Eirian said, "I would think there would be an unfair advantage, considering my skill set, equipment, and experience," He continued, "I would hate to seriously injure one of the students I'm meant to be protecting," Eirian Finished.

"Well, looking through your file," Nezu leafed through a large folder with EMC's logo on it, "It should be fine if you… remove all the blades, don't use the 'ferrous bots,' and scale back the power on any offensive capabilities," Nezu looked up expectantly.

"So you want me to make a new arm and leg that can only use fear inducer and blink?" Eirian looked sceptical

"And anything else, that you can prove to me is non-lethal," Nezu smirked.

Eirian carefully watched Nezu searching for intent, after a moment, he replied, "I'm not given an option, am I?"

"Consider it part of the job," Nezu replied.

"Very well. Will that be all?"

"That will be all," Eirian turned his heel and entered the hallway back to class, joining up with Mirajane who was adamantly waiting outside of the Principal's office.

 _"So it's a test?"_ Mirajane asked.

 _"It's a test,"_ Eirian said, slightly annoyed as he felt his highly organised schedule crumble down around him.

 _ **Present-day**_

As Ilda looked down on his brother in critical condition, only one thing was on his mind: revenge.

I have risen! Never wrote action before this chapter, so I wrote and rewrote this chapter a disgusting amount of times over the last year before I arrived at this version, a version that I am nothing more than okay with. I'm sure as I continue this story and learn more about writing, I will return to this chapter and give it some more attention, but I'm just too excited to start the internship arc! This has been your friendly neighbourhood deity, and I'll see you in the next one.


	6. Business Trips, Hero Names, and More

Chapter 5. Business Trips, Hero Names, and Internships

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

' _English speech_ '

While the days following the UA sports festivals marked a period of well-earned rest for most of the students of 1-A, the EMC contractors were hard at work.

' _What's next?_ ' Eirian stated clearly while flipping through memos, financial documents, and other records from behind his desk.

' _Leo called again,_ ' Mirajane followed while flipping through a portfolio of her own, wearing a suit and skirt with glasses perched on her nose.

' _Great,'_ Eirian groaned. ' _When is he going to get off my back?_ '

' _Would it hurt to talk to him once? At least see what all the fuss is about?'_

' _Maybe, but since it's obviously not an emergency, I don't see why we can't push it off. What's next?'_ Eirian pushed onward, but as the words escaped his lips, there was a knock on the door. Eirian paused and shifted his eyes to the door while Mirajane turned around. The door opened, and a well-dressed man with an earpiece walked in with a cell phone in his hand. ' _What is it?'_ Eirian asked the man in the doorframe, not trying to hide his annoyance.

The man stuttered, ' _Well, that's just the thing, sir. They knew the challenge word, and when I asked who was speaking, they mentioned something about an old friend from home.'_

Eirian groaned while Mirajane looked slightly smug in Eirian's direction, ' _going to ignore him now?'_ She asked.

' _Throw me the damn thing'_ Eirian grumbled before deftly catching the device with his real arm. He brought the phone to his ear and spoke into it ' _This better be good, Leo.'_

' _You've been ignoring my calls, Eirian,'_ The voice on the other end replied curtly.

' _Did you ever stop to consider the possibility that it was intentional? Our business together is done.'_ Eirian snapped back. ' _Isn't it the dead of night there?'_

Leo ignored the questioning and replied, ' _Those senors you gave us are blowing up. Something big is about to happen, when is the earliest you can get to DC?'_

Eirian suddenly adopted a very sombre expression, ' _On our way, can you set a meeting up at 0900 your time?'_ He said as he began packing up the things on his desk, Mirajane catching on and following suit.

' _See you then.'_ Leo hung up as Eirian began walked out of his office, throwing the phone to the agent waiting patiently at the door before he started barking orders on his journey towards the elevator.

' _Agent, I need you to contact the estate and get the type two arm and leg delivered to Narita with 3 units of Ferrous Bots. Standard arsenal.'_ The agent nodded and immediately began dialling a number on his returned phone. He then turned to Mirajane, ' _have you contacted the pilots?'_

Mirajane replied, ' _The helicopter is already here, the pilot at Narita just began the preflight checklist. What's going on?'_ She asked in a worried tone as it has been a long time since she has seen Eirian so severe.

' _They're picking up signs of a possible mutagen in the US,'_ Mirajane shivered at the thought as they took the elevator reached the roof of the building. The trio exited onto the helipad as they looked out over Shinjuku.

'I'm never going to get used to this view,' Eirian and Mirajane paused in tandem as they looked out over an afternoon view of Tokyo. The two were quickly dragged out of the peaceful moment as the blades on the helicopter whirred into life, the agent ushering them onboard before boarding himself.

' _Narita?'_ The pilot asked for confirmation.

' _That's the one.'_ Eirian replied as he strapped into the copilot's seat and donned his headphones.

As they touched down at Narita International Airport, Sebas was waiting patiently on the ground as Mirajane, Eirian, and the agent stepped out of the helicopter. ' _Thanks for coming on such short notice, Sebas. Did Mirajane fill you in?_

Sebas put a hand on his chest and bowed his head, ' _Yes, sir. They are conducting the final checks as we speak, and everything you requested has been loaded onto the plane. If it pleases the master, I have assigned Beta and Epsilon to join you on the trip. They have clothes and other necessities packed for the masters as well.'_

' _Great, Thank you, Sebas. We will be in communication as soon as we land.'_

The group said their goodbyes, and as Eirian and Mirajane began to board the plane, Eirian noticed that the agent was not following them.

' _Is there something wrong?'_ Eirian asked the young man.

" _Oh, no, sir, I just wasn't aware that I would be joining you,'_ The agent nervously replied.

Eirian gave a trademark mischievous grin, ' _He called you on your phone, didn't he?'_ The agent was shocked as Eirian said, ' _Come on, we're on a tight schedule.'_

The gaggle of personnel finished preparing the plane for the flight. The captain began speaking over the intercom, ' _Welcome aboard The Icarus, Mr. chairman and Miss Strauss, today we will be flying non-stop to Joint Base Andrews in Washington DC, we will reach our cruising altitude of 6.6 million feet and will arrive at 7:45 AM Eastern Daylight Time, with a total flight time of five hours and thirty-seven minutes. Please enjoy the flight.'_

The agent Blanched, ' _Sir, 6.6 million feet? Is this one of those low-earth-orbit planes?'_

' _First time?'_ Mirajane asked with a soothing smile riding on her lips.

Eirian chuckled, ' _You'll be fine, I was on the maiden voyage! Now that was nerve-wracking.'_ The colour in the agent's cheeks began to return at the words of encouragement. ' _What was your name again, agent? You seem familiar,' Eirian asked the man._

' _Felt, Agent Mark Felt,'_ The man now known as Agent Felt replied.

' _Ah yes, Agent Felt,'_ Eian nodded in recognition, ' _You were on the staff of the Silicon Valley R &D Department before we relocated.' _Eiran found that pretending not to remember people at first put them at ease more than immediately recognising them, regardless of how misleading it was.

Eirian, Mirajane, and Agent Felt engaged in conservative small talk about Agent Felt's work in Silicon Valley when one of the maids walked up to the three travellers and took drink orders. ' _I recommend something strong, we should try and get some sleep before we land.'_ Eirian suggested before ordering a tall whiskey with no ice. Agent Felt cringed at not only the age of the person making the order but also at the thought of tasting such a drink. Mirajane ordered a glass of wine, and when the maid looked to him, he decided to play it safe by ordering a gin and tonic. When the drinks arrived the two young ones chugged their respective glasses and promptly fell asleep in each other's arms, an action Agent Felt both found rather disturbing, while admittedly quite humorous, maybe even touching. Eventually, Agent Felt also finished his drink and tried his best to sleep while looking out the window at a quickly shrinking earth.

* * *

Agent Felt awoke to someone gently shaking his arm. He groggily opened his eyes and jumped at the sight of his boss, sporting only one arm and one leg. ' _Sorry about the unsightly view,'_ Eirian said, seemingly reading the Agent's mind, ' _We're just about to land, and I wanted to make sure you were fully awake, coffee?_ Eirian gestured to the maid in the isle already offering him a cup. He took the cup while thanking the maid, and began to watch Eiran with intrigue as he began to undress with Mirajane's help. Together the pair took off Eirian's suit coat and dress shirt, revealing the everyday wife-beater style undershirt he was wearing. He noticed the jet black of Eirian's right shoulder and how the darkness seemed to leak through the white of his shirt like a virus as it spread towards his pec. Agent Felt snapped out of his daze when a red-headed maid appeared beside them, with two pelican cases. She carefully put them down and opened them, revealing their contents. A matching arm and leg, as black as night.

' _Look familiar?'_ Eirian gave Agent Felt a knowing smile, ' _these were developed at the lab you worked at,'_ Agent Felt was stunned.

' _That's the fusion-powered version?'_ Agent Felt asked.

' _That's right!'_ Eirian beamed as he connected the extremities to his body.

A voice rang out over the intercom, ' _We have begun our final descent to Joint Base Andrews. Please be seated and fasten your seatbelts.'_

Upon exiting the aircraft, Eirian was surprised to find a full motorcade waiting for him. Mirajane whistled and said ' _looks like the Americans at least know how to welcome visitors,'_ to which Eirian began to laugh.

Agent Felt once again entered work mode, ushering the duo into the designated vehicle before speaking to the driver, ' _Where are they going?'_

' _The White House, did Eirian not tell you?'_ For what seemed like the millionth time that day, Agent Felt was left speechless before getting into another one of the many vehicles in the motorcade.

Upon arriving at the White House, They made their way through the Secret Service checkpoint. Eirian and his entourage were escorted to the Mural Room to wait for the beginning of the meeting. After mere moments alone in the room Eirian piped up, ' _Well I'm going to go say hi to an old colleague, anyone need anything?'_ after hearing only silence, Eirian stood up and made his way out of the room.

Eiran wandered out of the Mural Room and past the Comms Bullpen and into the lobby. He made his way through the lobby and parked himself in the doorframe to the Policy Bullpen, watching the orchestrated chaos of the personnel beginning their days. Eirian snaked his way through the countless employees until he was at an office labelled: 'Deputy Chief of Staff, Joshua Lyman.' Eiran smiled and knocked on the open door as he entered the office.

' _What is it, Donna,'_ The man behind the desk said before looking up, freezing in place as he locked eyes with the man in the doorframe. ' _Eirian?'_ he exclaimed while standing from his seat. The man behind the desk was a man of average height and average build, his most defining feature being the spiral horns jutting out from his forehead where his hair had receded many years ago. ' _What the hell are you doing here?'_ he asked while moving to greet the young man at the door, a goofy grin riding his middle-aged face.

' _Hey Josh, Leo didn't tell you I was coming?'_ Eirian asked while embracing the man in a hug.

' _No, he didn't tell me anything,'_ Josh told Eirian with concern in his voice as he pulled away from the hug.

' _Drinks tonight at the usual place?'_ Eirian questioned with a face contrastingly sombre to the words leaving his lips.

' _I'll make sure I'm free,'_ Josh replied with a sympathetic smile. Mere moments later, a young black man entered the office.

' _The President will see you now, Mr Howell.'_

Eirian sighed, ' _We'll catch up tonight, Josh.'_ To which the horned man gave a curt nod in affirmation.

* * *

The young black man led Eirian back through the lobby and towards the Oval Office. Eirian straightened his tie before entering the door the young man was guiding him through. The office was full of faces, Mirajane, Agent Felt, the maids known as Beta and Epsilon, Leo Mcgarry, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and six Secret Service agents. Behind the Resolute Desk stood a middle-aged man with a dark look on his face. ' _Good Morning, Eirian,'_ The stout man said from behind the desk.

' _Good Morning, Jed,'_ Eirian replied sharply.

' _I think Mr Pesident is more fitting considering the circumstances.'_ The man stared at Eirian.

' _My apologies, Mr President. You made it seem like we were on a first-name basis.'_ Eirian replied, not breaking his gaze.

' _Mr Howell, please have a seat so we may begin discussing the situation.'_ The older man known as Leo split the tension by gesturing to one of the couches.

' _Of course,'_ Eirian took his seat on the couch as he continued, ' _What can I do for you, Mr President,'_ conducting a business-like tone.

' _We have reason to believe that there will be a mutagen event at a nearby high school,'_ Leo spoke up, ' _The sensors you have loaned us suggest the event will take place within the next 48 hours.'_

' _That's unfortunate,'_ Eirian replied, ' _It's great that you have an incredible military here, not to mention a budding Hero Society.'_

' _There's no one in this world that can deal with these events like you can,_ ' The President said, ' _We're putting you back on retainer until we find a way to stop the mutagens from happening. You will answer to only me, and the Joint Chiefs.'_

' _You're WHAT?'_ Eirian jumped to his feet and stared at the president with fire in his eyes. The standoff lasted almost ten seconds before the president finally conceded,

' _Can everyone give us a few minutes alone?'_ The President requested. Eirian gave a subtle nod, followed by the maids, Mirajane, and Agent Felt moving towards the door, followed by the President's staff. While the others left the room, the Secret Service agents remained, causing the President to look at them in contempt, ' _Everyone, please.'_

' _Mr President, I'm afraid that we cannot leave you in here alone while Mr Howell is armed,'_ one of the agents spoke up.

' _Is that supposed to be some kind of sick joke?'_ Eirian spat at the man who, while cringing at his poor choice of words, remained adamant,

' _My apologies, Mr Howell, if you would be so kind as to remove your hardware we will see ourselves out,'_ Eirian grumbled to himself and called to Mirajane, who promptly reentered the room to assist Eirian in removing his extremities. As Eirian began to undress in the Oval Office, he couldn't help but snicker to himself given the absurdity of the situation. Soon he was left in his boxers and undershirt as he removed his arm and leg. With the help of Mira, he redressed and sat back down on the couch, the Secret Service agents still refusing to move. ' _The eye too, sir.'_ The agent almost whispered as rage filled Eirian's face. Eiran angrily removed a large panel from his face, exposing a hole that expanded from his mid-cheek to his upper brow, all the way back to the start of his ear. In the hole was a disgusting display of electronics and scar tissue. The agents, seemingly satisfied, excused themselves from the room, Mirajane behind them carrying Eirian's equipment.

' _Now that you see me for the cripple I am, what could you possibly want from me?'_ Eirian asked in an irritated tone.

' _Crippled by your own hand, that is,'_ The President began to heat up at Eirian's snark.

Eirian laughed,

' _Good one, Bartlet. I'll give you the arm and the leg, but the eye was very much involuntary; a gift from a loved one,'_ Eirian ended on a sinister note. The President shuddered but continued on.

' _Mutagens are growing in frequency, even with your research at EMC, we have no idea what causes them or how to stop them. We need you back in the states, Eirian._

' _What on earth gives you the authority to give me orders? The only reason I ever helped your campaign is that you were close with my father during your tenure as governor. I've already done my work here, Bartlet, I provided clean energy in the form of fusion power, my company carries the entire US economy on its back, and we provide jobs for over fifty million Americans. I ended your war, it's up to you now to clean up after yourselves.'_

' _Your father would be disappointed in you, Eirian.'_ Jed lamented.

' _Do you want to have a word with him?'_ Eirian quipped back venomously.

' _What do you mean? Henry has been dead for over a decade?'_ Jed replied with honest confusion in his voice.

' _It's my quirk, Jed, you don't even know what it really is, do you?_ Jed eyed Eirian nervously.

' _I'm seventeen. I began combat training at five, started fighting in wars at seven, revolutionised industry and energy by nine, and now run the most extensive company the world has ever seen as the wealthiest man alive. Could anyone have done that by themselves?_

' _What are you getting at?'_

' _Jed, my family's quirk is more than perfect memory. It gets passed down to the first son of each generation and has been for three generations now. When the father dies, the son gains every memory of the father, that's over 100 years of perfect memories dating back to the First Great Quirk War._

Jed's eyes widened with realisation. ' _Your father died when you were five.'_

' _Exactly.'_

' _I'm sorry, Eirian, if I would have known, I never would have-'_

' _Save it, Jed, let's get serious. Do you want me to solve the mutagen problem or not?'_

' _Of course, I do, it's a matter of national security and of the utmost importance.'_

' _Then stop palming off the problem to someone who's got a lot more important and pressing things to worry about.'_

' _What are we to do then?'_

Eirian pulled out his phone, ' _I'm sending you the plans for a task force that will be specially trained to deal with the mutagens. It will be funded by EMC, but it's up to you to man the force and utilise them effectively. No more phone calls from Leo while I'm halfway across the world, no more demanding I be put on retainer to fix your problems, and no more treating me like a kid. understood?'_

' _What about the Mutagen the sensors are picking up now?'_ Jed asked Eirian.

' _I'll take care of it, consider it a parting gift.'_ Eirian grinned sinisterly at the President. ' _Are we done here?'_

' _Yes, thank you, Eirian.'_

' _My pleasure, Mr President.'_

* * *

Eirian and Mirajane were collecting many strange looks as they sat in the back of the classroom, waiting for Aizawa's class to begin. While the rest of the class were gushing over how they were getting recognition for their performances in the sporting festival on their way to school, Eirian and Mirajane both looked absolutely knackered. Dark circles under both of their eyes, and cuts and bruises on the skin that was exposed. Ochako noticed the pair in poor form and asked as she sat in her seat, "Mira, what happened to you guys, you look like zombies!"

"Oh, good morning, Ocha, we're just really jetlagged," Mirajane replied with a weak smile. Ochako was about to question the women further, but Aizawa walked through the doorframe and demanded silence.

"Good morning class, today we have an exceptional hero informatics class: Code names." The class erupted into excitement. Once he used his quirk to force them to calm down, he continued, "Kayama-Sensei will be joining us to ensure that your chosen names are appropriate," he finished as he crawled into his yellow sleeping bag, "Wake me when you're finished."

Midnight burst through the door, drawing the eyes of many of the males in the classroom. Mirajane saw this as an opportunity to tease Eirian and looked at him for his response to the bodacious women strutting into the classroom, only for the wind to leave her sails once she realised her boyfriend was completely asleep. She nudged him, causing him to jerk awake in his seat, almost falling out of his chair at the sudden jolt of waking up. Midnight and a few classmates looked back at the two students as Midnight asked, "Is everything okay back there?"

' _Sorry, Ma'am.'_ Eirian spoke back in English while yawning, causing Midnight to smirk at him.

' _Need I remind you we are in Japan, Mr Howell?'_ Midnight asked in perfect English, loving the opportunity to tease one of her students.

Eirian's eyes widened, "Sorry, Kayama-Sensei." Midnight rolled her eyes at the young man and continued with class. The students began moving in front of the room and presenting their hero names to the rest of the class. After some great titles and some flops, Eirian and Mirajane found it to be their turn to show their hero names. Mirajane walked to the front of the class while holding her whiteboard close to her chest.

"Hello, everyone!" She exclaimed with jubilee, "I'm going to be The Rosary Hero: Fallen Angel!" She finished with a wide grin while the class looked at her in stunned silence.

"Well it certainly is a bit dark, are you going for a gap moé?" Midnight asked curiously.

"What's a gap moé?" Mirajane asked with genuine confusion.

"Don't worry about it," Midnight replied with an understanding smile, "I'll think it over and let you know if that name is okay."

"Okay!" Mirajane happily walked back to her seat as Eirian began walking to the podium at the front of the class with a subtle limp. Once he reached the podium, he flipped his whiteboard around showing its contents.

"The Fusion Hero: Living sun," he said plainly but powerfully, sleep still present in his eyes. The rest of the class pondered his hero name carefully, each coming up blank when thinking why he would choose this name before Midnight cut in,

"Interesting, what does it mean?" She asked.

"My arm and leg are powered by nuclear fusion, which is the same way the sun creates energy." Midnight slammed her hand into her fist,

"I get it! Very nice choice," Eirian walked back to his seat as the rest of their class presented the hero names. Once they were finished, Aizawa-Sensei was woken up and began discussing the upcoming internships. When he gave the results of the internship offers on the screen, the class was surprised to see neither Mirajane nor Eirian anywhere on the list.

Once class was dismissed, Izuku approached the two knackered individuals, "Why weren't either of you get offers for internships? You won, Eirian; and Mirajane was incredible in the first two events!" A few other nearby classmates quieted down to hear the response.

"We removed ourselves from the pool of selection because we will be moving around visiting everyone else as a part of our security work," Eirian answered. Izuku nodded in understanding as chatter about which agency each student would be attending. As the rest of the class continued discussing, Eirian and Mirajane walked around, gathering information on what each student was thinking, so they had a feeling of where they would be going the following week.

"Iida, I'm sorry to hear about your brother, we have been on an assignment together, he is a good man. Tell him that he is in our thoughts next time you see him." Iida put on a stern face and strained to reply,

"Thank you Eirian, we are just lucky he survived."

"Indeed, where are you planning on interning?" Eirian changed the heavy subject.

"I decided to go with Manual," Iida quietly replied. This caused all of the red flags in Eirian's brian to go off, but played it off naturally,

"Ah, so you're headed to Hosu, correct?"

"That's right," Iida muttered, worried that Eirian would catch on to his intentions.

"Good luck, if you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask," Eirian replied. Iida relaxed as he didn't think Eirian connected the dots, but when he looked at up at Eirian to thank him, he froze. Eirian was staring intensely at him, his right eye glowed slightly,

"Th-thank y-you," Iida managed to get out

"Don't mention it," Eirian replied without breaking his gaze, finally breaking it to go speak to the remaining students. Iida quickly gathered his things and left in a hurry, nearly tripping on his way out.

* * *

The students impatiently loitered in the train station holding their hero uniforms in briefcases.

"Does everyone have my phone number in case of an emergency?" Eirian asked as he finished typing his number into Tsuyu's phone. Upon hearing silence, Eirian scanned the crowd of hero-hopefuls. He began massaging his temples.

 _'You alright?'_ Mirajane asked while threading her arm into his.

 _'Yeah, just a little stressed. I better go check on Iida."_ Eirian motioned as the duo made their way to the student who was looking off into space.

"Hey Iida, how you feeling?" Eirian asked.

"I'm okay, thank you, though," he replied with a stoic look.

"Good to hear. Oh, it looks like your uniform is a little out of order. Let me help you with that," Eiran said while he began to fix Iida's tie and uniform coat. "There's something on your glasses too, may I see them for a moment? First impressions are important, after all!" Iida absentmindedly handed his glasses over and took them back when Eiran was finished cleaning them.

"Thanks, Eiran," Iida replied as he locked eyes with his classmate for the first time since the beginning of the interaction. Iida froze. The stern expression on Eirian's face made his stomach drop. 'He knows.'

"Don't do anything reckless this week," Eiran replied, not breaking his gaze from the student.

"U-understood," Iida replied, wavering slightly. Eiran nodded and walked back to where Aizawa was sending off the rest of the students. Once the rest had cleared out, Aizawa asked Eirian,

"How many did you get on him?"

"Five. One on the tie, three in the jacket, and one on his glasses," Aizawa sighed while nodding

"We've got to keep a close eye on him in these trying times. Thanks for your help, Eirian."

"Anytime, Aizawa Sensei"

 **Thanks for reading! I've received a second wind with this story, and I'm really looking forward to what I have planned! I have also gone back and made some minor changes to the previous chapters, nothing serious though. Please review! This has been your friendly neighbourhood deity, and I'll see you in the next one.**


	7. Omake: A Presidential Favour

Omake: A Presidential Favour

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

'English speech.'

Content advisory: graphic depictions of violence and death

' _Are we done here?'_

' _Yes, thank you, Eirian.'_

' _My pleasure, Mr President.'_

President Bartlet picked up the phone on his desk, 'we're _finished. Send them back in,'_ he hung up the phone, and the door to the oval office opened. Mirajane strode over to Eirian and began re-assembling him. After the reconstruction, Eirian wandered back to Josh's office.

' _Hey, how'd it go?'_ Josh asked the young man,

' _Could have been better, but about as expected.'_

' _You working for us again?'_ Josh asked with a hopeful gleam in his eyes.

' _Fortunately for our livers, no. I'll be here for the next three days at most.'_ Eirian offered a weak smile in return. Josh looked slightly disappointed upon hearing his close friend would not be remaining in the States.

' _We at least still getting drinks tonight?'_ Josh asked, hopefully.

' _Hell, yeah. Meet you there at eight.'_

' _See you there,'_ Josh responded with a relieved and warm smile.

* * *

Josh arrived at the bar at 7:45, excited to catch up with Eirian. He ordered a drink as Eirian appeared out of nowhere next to him, giving him a start.

' _Good Lord, I can't believe I haven't gotten used to that yet,'_ He dramatically placed his hand on his chest and chuckled. Mirajane sat down on the other side of Josh as Eirian teased,

' _Sounds like you're just getting old, Josh.'_

' _Oh, wipe that shit-eating grin and make an order, tonight's on me.'_

' _Sorry to break it to you, but you're not paying tonight.'_

' _Right, bazillionaire,'_ Joshed rolled his eyes. All three of them began laughing as Eirian ordered a Trinidad Sour, and Mirajane ordered a glass of wine. Josh took a long drink from his beer,

' _You never did tell me why you were here, Eirian.'_ Eirian sighed.

' _Haven't put it together yet? I took you for a smarter man.'_

' _I've put it together, alright. I'm just hoping it isn't so.'_

' _It is so.'_

' _I see, you got a location yet?'_

' _Yeah, it's a nearby high school. Sometime in the next 48 hours.'_ Josh cringed as Eirian took a long sip of his drink.

' _Why not cancel school?'_ Josh asked.

' _The events are location-based. If we cancelled school, it would only be safe until some unfortunate soul went back. By continuing school, we have much more control over when it will happen. Even though there will be many innocent lives lost.'_ Josh looked down at his drink in deep contemplation.

' _On that happy note,'_ Mirajane cut in, ' _how has work been? Hard to believe only a few years ago you were working with EMC,'_ Josh nodded thoughtfully.

' _It's been tiring,'_ Josh continued, 'I'm _sure you already knew this, but I almost got fired a few months ago for saying some stupid stuff on tv.'_ The three began to laugh and continued talking, reminiscing, and catching up until the early hours of the morning.

* * *

Two days of touring Washington DC with Mirajane later, Eirian got the call, 'it's _happening, location on lockdown, ready to counter,'_ as the voice finished speaking, a helicopter that had been floating above the pair descended upon them and lowered a rope ladder. Eirian gave a curt nod to Mirajane who then grabbed hold of the rungs while Eirian did the same. The ladder began to retract. Once they made it to the fuselage of the craft, they started shedding clothes, donning combat gear. Mirajane passed him an FN SCAR. By the time they were finished, Eirian had worn a full, black combat uniform. A vest rode his chest equipped with many war-fighting devices; grenades, magazines, flash-bangs, flares, and more.

Over the treeline, the high school was finally in view. It was a moderately-sized building of four floors, at the moment it was surrounded by dozens of blinking lights from emergency vehicles. Soon, the helicopter was looming over the facility.

' _What's that chopper doing here!?'_ One of the officers on the scene yelled to another.

' _You didn't get the memo? EMC is cleaning up this one.'_

' _They're back? I thought they ditched last year,'_ a third officer pitched in.

' _Hell if I know, I just read the memo.'_

A black rope fell from the chopper, shortly followed by one person repelling down the rope and on to the roof. The line retracted into the helicopter, which began flying circles around the school.

' _Just one? Don't they know there's a mutagen going on in there?'_

' _Get swat ready to breach and get in contact with the feds, something weird is going on here.'_

* * *

' _I've touched down, standby for heading if need be,'_ Eirian spoke as his feet touched the rooftop.

' _Affirm. Standing by for heading,'_ Mirajane responded from the co-pilot seat of the helicopter. Eirian scanned the roof for anything out of the ordinary, before making his way to one of the many skylights dotting the surface. Eirian looked through the glass and noticed that the only sources of light were the skylights themselves, all other sources from inside the building snuffed. Eirian carefully pried the window open and slowly peeked his head into the hole to see if there were any threats. As soon as he lowered his head into the darkness, and an unmistakable scent invaded his nostrils. Blood.

Eirian lifted his head back into the open air and performed a final check on his equipment before silently jumping into the darkness below. His feet landed in a puddle of red. Eirian could not see well enough, so switched the setting on faux his eye to thermal imaging. With his newfound visibility, he was finally able to make out the carnage in front of him. Dozens of bodies no larger than those of his classmates were strewn along the hallway, blood, brain matter, and entrails splattered on almost every surface. Eirian steeled himself. Lifting his rifle to his shoulder, he began to sweep the building. After about two minutes of searching the corridors, he heard a small noise coming from around the corner.

Quickly clearing the corner, Eirian searched for the source of the noise. He found it. A young girl, no older than 15, weaky breathing and moaning as her intestines hung from a gnarly gash in her stomach. She was barely conscious and losing blood fast. Eirian knew she would not last for more than five minutes and moved on.

Around the very next corner, Eirian found what he was looking for. Hunched over a pile of bodies was a grotesque figure, lanky and slim, with stringy black hair. It was standing under the light from one of the skylights, so eirian could make out pale, blue skin riddled with strange black holes. The creature wore a skirt and blouse, and Eirian cringed. He knew these mutagens are unpredictable, but this monster in front of him looked far too human compared to the others he had dealt with.

As Eirian continued to observe the former high school girl, disaster struck. A cough from behind him. Eirian looked back in horror and saw the girl from before coughing uncontrollably. The mutagen stood up straight, towering over eight feet high, with its stretched arms nearly reaching the floor. Eirian quickly made his way back to the girl as carefully as possible and attempted to cover her mouth, but to no avail. The footsteps of the creature continued to approach. Acting quickly acted, leaving the girl behind and finding cover in a doorway to a classroom. Less than a second before he was fully concealed, the horror finally rounded the corner and moved to the still-coughing girl. Eirian brought his rifle to his cheek. The Fiend prepared to strike. As it brought its clawed hand down into a sweeping motion, Eirian began to squeeze the trigger.

*BANG BANG*  
*BANG*

Eirian let three rounds fly, all striking true. The first two hit the chest, while the final one landed on the head. The creature was unfazed and let out a horrid cry. Eirian again opened fire, unloading his entire clip into the beast as it broke into a sprint on all fours towards him. Seeing the uselessness of his efforts, Eirian turned on his heel and began running, throwing his rifle to the side in frustration.

The abomination was in hot pursuit on all four of its gnarly limbs, and quickly closed the gap between it and Eirian. Even at a full sprint, Eirian could not shake the beast and prepared to blink ahead as he had done in his fight against Bakugou. His metal leg began whirring and glowing as it primed to jump.

*POP* *POP* POP*

Each time Eirian blinked forward down the corridor, he gained some much-needed breathing room between him and the monster. A corner was coming up, and Eirian flashed in the direction of the turn, causing the persuing creature to slam into a wall of lockers with a severe amount of force. The hunter remained unfazed and was back on Eirian's heels far sooner than he was hoping. Eirian began to furiously think of how to lose the beast and did the first thing that came to mind.

Eirian blinked and found himself in darkness. Through the small slits of light, he observed the mutagen screeching to a halt. It looked around in confusion, before letting loose a rage-filled howl. It remained for a couple of moments, before finally moving on. Eirian let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding in when a small tone began to play in his earpiece. In the cramped space of the locker he was hiding in, Eirian could not reach his ear to answer the call. Eirian exited the locker and ducked into a classroom, locking the door behind him.

Back outside, the area surrounding the school had not only first responders, but federal agents, the military, and EMC agents also dotted the campus. An Army Colonel had his phone up to his ear, waiting impatiently for whoever was on the other end to pick up. Flanking him were representatives of each organization on the scene. The police officer looked clueless, the Colonel looked annoyed, the federal agent looked worried, and the EMC agent looked calm. Finally, the call went through.

' _Eirian is that you in there?!'_

' _Omega,'_ a soft voice on the other side replied.

' _Eirian, we don't have time for games, we heard the gunshots. what the hell is the meaning of this?'_

' _Omega,'_ the voice repeated. The Colonel angerly grunted and handed the phone over to the EMC agent. The agent brought the phone up to his ear, waited a moment, and replied,

' _Centari,'_ The agent handed the phone back to the Colonel who inhaled deeply to begin yelling when the voice started speaking quickly.

' _Humanoid-type mutagen, strength enhancement. Impervious to fear. Impervious to bullets. Speed enhancement. Five. Tree. Niner. Eight. Two.'_ The call hung up. The Colonel turned around and began barking orders.

' _Barricade the doors! Make sure the perimeter is secured! Get the roadblocks in place! Make sure the press can't get a line of sight!'_ Everyone in the surrounding area spread and began working like ants.

After Eirian cut the connection, he made a call to Mirajane.

' _Looking like scenario 8'_ Eirian whispered. Mirajane groaned.

'We'll _dump the ferrous-bots, where are you going to kite it?'_

' _The gym. ETA five minutes, standby for heading. Open comms.'_

' _Standing by for heading,'_ Mirajane stood up and moved from the co-pilot's seat to the back of the helicopter. She manoeuvred three 55-gallon drums to the open side of the aircraft, opened the lids, and dumped a black, viscous liquid out of the chopper. Once all three barrels had been emptied, she remained in the back, waiting for directions from eirian. The dark fluid hit the top of the school with a splat but did not remain stagnant. As if it had a mind of its own, the liquid began mixing and moving towards openings in the roof, the air vents.

Eirian carefully left the classroom he was seeking refuge in. After looking down both side of the corridor and seeing that it was safe, he moved out and took a moment to glance at the fire escape route. Carefully moving into position to lead the beast into the gymnasium, he threw a popper down the hall, banging as the charge went off. Eirian heard another deranged roar from the floor above. Loud crashing from the beast thundered through the halls as it encroached on Eirian's position. Moments later, the monster crashed through the ceiling where Eirian had thrown the explosive and began searching for the source. Eirian, Weiliding his sidearm, fired a few rounds to get the attention of the creature, before turning on his heels and ran down the hallway. Once again the monster proved faster, and Eirian once again began blinking ahead to stay out of its reach.

Finally, Eirian rounded a corner into the gymnasium of the school, the Fiend close behind him. Now in a much more open space, Eirian was able to move freely. He launched his faux hand out from his wrist, which grabbed onto the rafters of the gym and pulled him out of the reach of the lanky arms. From the ceiling, Eirian noticed a black liquid seeping through the air vents, making Eirian sigh in relief. He activated his arm again and seeping fluid shot towards Eirian, surrounding and morphing around his robotic arm in an even layer of the liquid. He dropped from his vantage and thrust his arm towards the beast. The black fluid jutted out and latched onto the monster's face, blocking its eyes, mouth, and nose. It stumbled back and began clawing at its face in an attempt to clear the foreign substance, but the liquid could not be pried off. The monster started flailing about wildly and furling itself into the floor and walls. Unable to receive any oxygen, the Fiend faltered and collapsed to the ground.

Eirian approached the felled beast and let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly, Eirian found himself flying to the wall, his wind completely knocked out of him. He crashed through the wall and into the hallway outside. Groaning as he tried to move, Eirian heard a voice through his earpiece, ' _Damage report: three broken ribs, mild concussion, mild lacerations.'_ the warm wetness of blood began dripping down his face. Eirian reached began pressing joints in his robotic arm until the voice came back, ' _pain relievers administered, healing agents administered.'_ Eirian let out a sigh in his bed of rubble as the pain relievers took effect, and enabled comms with Mirajane once again.

' _South'_ Eirian spoke.

' _On my way~'_ Mirajane replied in a sing-song voice. Back on the helicopter, Mirajane unhooked her harness and immediately jumped from the craft, sprouting her black wings as she dive-bombed the school. She crashed through the roof of the gym to a grizzly sight. The beast was covered in blood and was violently thrashing around, its eyes still covered by the ferrous-bots. She looked over to the hole in the wall, seeing Eirian slowly standing up in his pile of rubble, blood staining his face, Mirajane became furious. She began her transformation to the demon of the south and grew multiple feet. Her skin turned red, and then black in some places. Spikes and horns erupted from her skin, and a tail grew from her back. By the time her evolution completed, she was completely unrecognizable. Where once his girlfriend stood, now stood an actual demon, one of the most potent beings Eirian had ever faced.

Mirajane roared, and all of the windows in the gymnasium shattered. She wound up and delivered a crippling punch to the monster's face. Unfortunately, while the punch made the beast stumble, it also destroyed the ferrous-bots, leading to the creature regaining its vision. Now that the creature could see again, it began trading devastating blows with the demoness. Eirian watched in horror as the monster started to glow in soft, golden light. ' _Mira! It's about to enter a second mutagen!'_ Mirajane let off a huff and began letting off a black, eirie smoke.

The mutagen began to grow, and grow, and grow until it was threatening to burst through the ceiling of the gym. Eirian once again connected to the Colonel's communications line. ' _Eirian, what is it?'_ The Colonel asked.

' _Evacuate the area, it's about to get ugly.'_

' _Understood,'_ The Colonel put down his phone and began barking orders, ' _Everyone clear out! Evacuate any wounded still here ASAP!_ The personnel on the scene instantly began bustling about to follow the Colonel's orders.

As the vicinity of the school began to clear out, a thunderous rumble shook the ground, and the roof above the gym ultimately gave way. Through the dust cloud, a hulking, brooding figure stood, the sight of which inited chaos among the remaining onlookers.

Eirian knew this was the beginning of the end, and if Mirajane couldn't put a lid on this quickly, he would have to take drastic measures. Luckily, Mirajane was thinking the same thing and began to grow as well through the dark veil around her monstrous form. Soon, two colossuses were towering high over the school, a grotesque anomaly trading catastrophic blows with a towering, bonafide devil. Each punch and swipe sent shockwaves into the surrounding trees, causing leaves and branches to shake and fall. Seeing an opening, Mirajane wrapped her tail around the beast's leg and pulled it out from under it. As the monster began to fall onto its back, Mirajane followed it down with a devastating punch to the face, driving the creature's head into the ground with an immeasurable force. A geyser of blood erupted from the landing site. Mirajane looked down at her handiwork, where a now headless corpse now lay. She transformed back to her regular self and flew down to check on Eirian.

Eirian was awkwardly standing in the former gym, scrapes covering his face, clutching his side in pain. Mirajane had her fair share of injuries from the altercation which just took place, but it was clear that Eirian had drawn the short end of the stick concerning harm inflicted, and it was evident he needed immediate medical attention. She wrapped her arm under his, supporting the majority of his body weight as they made their way outside.

' _We need to check on it, make sure it's actually dead.'_ Eirian said through gritted teeth.

' _It doesn't have a head anymore, Eirian. I think we're safe to get you to a medic.'_

' _Better safe than sorry, I thought it was dead before you showed up and I ended up like this,'_ Eirian gave a weak gesture at his current state, and Mirajane nodded solemnly. Upon approaching where the creature fell, they noticed that while the blood splatter coated the entire area, the long form of the mutagen was nowhere to be seen. Fearing the worst, Mirajane set Eirian down on a nearby bench and took flight in search of the missing corpse. Once airborne, it did not take Mirajane long to find the body, but it was no longer a gargantuan size. Instead, it was no larger than a 16-year-old girl, wearing what once was a cute skirt and top. The clothes now desecrated in the young girl's own blood which was slowly oozing from the stump of her neck. Mirajane sighed and looked sadly at the carnage created by the mutagen, before returning to Eirian.

' _The mutagen event is over, I found the corpse.'_ Mirajane reported, holding back tears. Eirian mustered his strength and gave her a comforting hug.

' _Come on, we gotta get these wounds treated,'_ Mirajane nodded into Eirian's shoulder, and the two began limping to their waiting entourage of EMC employees.

 **I bet you weren't expecting me again so soon! I was super excited to write this chapter because this scene was the first thing I thought about when brainstorming this story over three years ago now, so please leave a review to let me know what you thought! Looking forward to knocking out internships and stain in the next couple of chapters, so stay tuned! This has been your friendly neighbourhood diety, and I'll see you in the next one.**


	8. Internships Part I

Internships Part I

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

' _English speech'_

Eirian had a lot on his plate as he travelled in the back of his car. In only one week he was to check-in and monitor every one of his 20 classmates, not including Mira, of course. To cover more ground, Eirian and Mirajane decided that it would be most wise to split up for the week, so each of them only had ten students to check on. Currently, Mirajane was observing how Tsuyu was doing with the pro hero Selkie. Electing to check in on the more 'problem' students, Eirian would be visiting Bakugou first, who was with Best Jeanist at Genius Office in central Tokyo. Eirian knew Bakugou only chose Best Jeanist's agency because of his status as the number four hero and was looking forward to seeing the two interact. Eirian was on pretty good terms with quite a few pro heroes, including many of the top ten, so he did not concern himself alerting Hakamata about his visit.

The driver pulled over and spoke to Eirian, "We've arrived, Sir." Eirian snapped out of his trance and left the car. He wore a navy Armani suit, a white shirt, brown shoes, and a Gucci tie. A Patek Muller watch rode his wrist, and Ray-Ban sunglasses sat on his face. Two agents appeared and opened the doors to the agency building for him. Eirian took off his sunglasses and walked to the receptionist.

"How can I help you?" The women with green skin droned without raising her eyes from the computer screen.

"I'm here to see Hakamata, can you let him know an old friend has dropped by? Exactly that phrasing?"

The women looked up and eyed Eirian suspiciously, "I'm going to need some credentials." EIrian nodded and pulled out a wallet. After searching for a good while he seemed to find what he was looking for. He handed the secretary a laminated card and gave a polite smile. The women narrowed her eyes at the presented document before visibly freezing up. She slowly looked up at Eirian, who was still smiling and began apologising profusely.

"My sincerest apologies, Howell-san, I'll contact Best Jeanist right away." She bowed deeply and picked up the phone on her desk. Eirian pulled out his phone to see if Mirajane had any updates for him. She had texted him that Selkie had Tsuyu cleaning the hero's ship, the Oki Mariner. Eirian quickly texted her back telling her to move on to the next student before he heard the voice of the secretary again. "Thank you for waiting, sir. Best Jeanist will see you now," she gestured towards the elevator in the lobby.

Eirian could easily make out Bakugou's screeching well before reaching the top floor of the building and prepared himself to interact with the obnoxious student. The elevator door opened and Eirian couldn't help but laugh at the scene laid out before him. Best Jeanist was hunched over Bakugou, adding the final touches to a hairstyle which mimicked his own. Upon hearing the laughter, Best Jeanist turned his head in the direction of the interruption.

"Eirian! How good of you to drop by, I was told that you'd be spending some time with us, but we never heard when you'd be getting here."

"Sorry about that, Hakamata. The board doesn't look too fondly to a large number of people knowing my schedule."

"So, what can I do for you?" Best Jeanist asked

"Just here to check on the problem child, looks like you have everything under control though," Eirian gestured towards Bakugou and sent his way a mocking grin. Bakugou looked as if he were about to explode, but restrained himself.

"We were actually just about to head out on patrol, I know you must be very busy, but would you like to join us?" Best Jeanist inquired.

"I think I've got some time to spare," Eirian flippantly stated as he checked his watch," You have a place I can change into my hero costume?"

"Yes, of course, just through that door on the left." Eirian nodded, and an agent handed Eirian a briefcase. He made his way into the room to change and slipped out of his fashionable clothes, donning is hero uniform. Once he had finished changing, he walked back out into the main hall of the agency, collecting many odd looks as he entered.

"Is something wrong? I thought you said you were changing into your hero costume?" Best Jeanist asked with concern in his voice.

"This is my hero Costume!" Eirian gave a twirl as he showed off what he was wearing. On the outside, it did not appear that he had changed at all, wearing an identical copy of what Eirian wore into the agency. Best Jeanist knew Eirian was just being smug and decided not to probe him further.

"Well, then, are you ready to move out?"

"Yup! Lead the way!" Eirian replied. The small gaggle of heroes and hero hopefuls began working their way down the street to much fanfare by the public. After signing many autographs and posing for countless pictures, the group broke away from the crowd and began the patrol propper. Eirian elected to hang back and listen to the interactions between The pro hero and the moody stick of TNT. By the time it was time for lunch, Eirian had decided that he had seen enough and that Bakugou would have no issues with Best Jeanist, so bid farewell to the team and entered a black car that pulled up.

* * *

Over the next six days, Eirian visited Mineta, Midoriya, Tokoyami, Shoji, Kirishima, Ilda, Kaminari, and Aoyama. All of the students seemed to be doing well enough, even though many of the students had chosen their mentors rather poorly. Mirajane had finished meeting with Asui, and continued on during the week to visit Ashido, Uraraka, Ojiro, Koda, Sato, Jiro, Hakagure, Sero, and was currently with Yaoyorozu. Eirian looked out of the window of his car as he pulled up to Endeavor's hero agency, the large and luxurious skyscraper towered above him. He was looking forward to this session more than most, as he considered himself rather close friends with Endeavor, or rather, his father had been. He strode confidently through the large, glass doors and walked up to the secretary's desk for the umpteenth time this week and gave the man a kind smile. Unlike the other times he had done this over the last six days, the bespectacled man behind the desk instantly recognised Eirian.

"Howell-san! Endeavor mentioned that you would be paying us a visit. It's been almost a year since we've seen you." Eirian was about to reply when he suddenly found himself restrained on the ground. He opened his eyes and saw flaming green hair when a voice yelled into his chest,

"Eirian! I haven't seen you in FOREVER! Where the hell have you been?" the women asked. Eirian chuckled and replied,

"Hey, Burnin! It's good to see you're well, I'm actually here to check on the boss and his kiddo."

"Oh! I'll take you up to his office," Burnin finally broke her tackle-hug, allowing Eirian to stand and dust himself off. The two made their way to the elevator as Burnin quickly began complaining about the amount of work Endeavor was making the sidekicks do. All of a sudden, out of the blue, the flaming women blurted out,

"Hey, did you break up with Mira? I noticed she's not here with you. If you're single, We're going out on a date!" She said with an incredible amount of energy.

Eirian coughed before replying, "No, sorry, we're still together, she's just checking on another student at the moment," a light blush rode his cheeks.

* * *

Mirajane felt a chill travel down her spine as she watched Kendo and Yaoyorozu struggle to record a commercial with Uwabami and felt slightly jealous for some reason. She shook it off and continued to watch the interns work. She found this whole commercial nonsense quite dull, and she could tell the two women being put through the wringer by the pro hero were in agony. Uwabami had asked Mirajane if he wanted to partake in the filming festivities, commenting on her "perfect hair" but Mirajane respectfully declined. She had been on TV more times than she could count but was exceedingly uncomfortable whenever Eirian wasn't present.

'Speaking of which, I Can't forget the task Eirian gave me regarding the girl. I should reach out to her when they finish today.' Mirajane thought as the taping seemed to be wrapping up.

"Thank you, ladies, that's all for today. I look forward to working with you again! Keep working hard, and maybe one day you'll have as large a fanbase as me!" She finished with a flourish and a wink. The two interns slumped as if they were puppets whose strings had been cut, and began trudging their way to their rooms. Mirajane stepped in front of them to stop them in their tracks.

"Hi, Yaomomo! It's so good to see you, I was wondering if you'd like to grab some dinner with me tonight. I'll treat."

Momo blanched and looked down at her feet when Kendo decided to speak for both of them. "Oh, thanks! You're Mirajane, right? I don't know if we've ever officially met," The red-head stuck out her hand for Mirajane to shake. Mirajane shook her hand and was impressed by the firmness of it, while Kendo continued, "I'm Kendo Itsuka, nice to meet you!"

"Mirajane Straus, please feel free to call me Mirajane. It's nice to meet you as well, Kendo-san."

"What were you saying about dinner? I'm famished!" Kendo exclaimed as Yaoyorozu continued to look extremely uncomfortable.

"How does hot pot sound?" Mirajane asked. Kendo's eyes lit up and nodded in affirmation

"Yaomomo?" Mirajane politely smiled as she turned her head in Momo's direction, causing her to jump slightly. Every time Momo heard her nickname exit that demon's lips she could feel both her blood chill and boil at the same time. Kendo, with her seemingly super-human intuition, spoke up.

"You okay, Yaoyorozu-san?" Momo snapped out of her trance and steeled herself. 'For father, not for this demon or her evil boss,' she took a deep breath and smiled,

"I'd love to join!"

* * *

The elevator stopped with a 'ding' as it reached the top floor of the Endeavor agency, as the two passengers left the lift, they were playfully taunting each other.

"At least I'm not the 25-year-old pursuing the 17-year-old, Eirian quipped"

"Oh, I'm not interested in you, I'm going after your pops, I know he's in there somewhere," she playfully tapped the top of his head.

"Oh, so you just want a sugar daddy, I should have known you were a gold digger," the two old friends began laughing until they heard someone clear their throat.

"Eirian, it has been a long time. It's good to see you again," The large man behind a desk stood up and greeted.

"Hey, Gramps! How are you?" Eirian asked as he jumped onto one of the couches in the room. Endeavor sighed at the young man's antics before turning to Burnin.

"Thank you, Burnin, you may return to work." Burnin gave a cute pout before re-entering the elevator, but not before making a goofy grin at Eirian with the universal 'call me' hand gesture. Eirian rolled his eyes. Once it was just the two of them in the office Eirian stood from the couch and made it over to Endeavor. The large man also stood and made his way around his desk. The two shared a firm handshake which transformed into a brief hug before Endeavor continued, "Sorry to interrupt your flirting with my sidekick," Eirian laughed and shook his head before replying,

"No worries. Where's the kiddo?"

"He's out with some sidekicks. He should be back soon. Don't tell me you're only here to discuss young Shoto."

"Well, officially, yes. Unofficially…" Eirian trailed off before reaching into his suit coat and pulled out an envelope. Endeavor grinned as he accepted the file from Eirian. "Wait until I leave to open it, give me a call when you've made your decision."

"Your likeness to your father is sickening at times." Endeavor gave a hollow grin and lightly shook his head.

"Like father like son!" Eirian quipped. Endeavor chuckled and replied,

"If that's not the understatement of the century."

"Once the kiddo gets back, what say you to a little patrol? It'll be just like the good old days."

"You better suit up, actually, we're headed to Hosu tonight for some hunting."

* * *

The three young women arrived at an upscale hot pot restaurant after the two interns changed into more comfortable clothing. Momo did not know what Mirajane had planned, but she knew that whatever it was, it was sinister. Momo knew the number of lives taken by both Eirian and Mirajane by sneaking glances at her father's ledgers. The thought of people like that existing gave her nightmares. The worst part of it all, the part that makes her nauseated to this very day, is how normal they were. Eirian was a monster, the richest man in the world, responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. Yet, the first time she remembers Eirian visiting, he was a middle schooler. According to her father, this child had been on countless combat missions in the early days of the US's war with Mexico, the inheritor to the largest company in the world, and a literal genius. He acted with a degree of maturity far behind his years when speaking on business, and quickly commanded any room he entered. Eirian was her personal boogyman, and now she was about to have dinner with his right-hand woman, his sword and shield, his own executioner, the Cardinal Devil. The more she thought of it, the more she felt like she was going to faint.

"I understand how difficult this must be for you, and I'm sorry." Momo snapped back to reality and stared across the table at Mirajane, Kendo stuffing her face with food.

"What?"

"I know how you feel about Eirian and me. I'm sorry for making your life at school and at home so difficult." Mirajane said with sincerity.

"How could you say that?" Momo asked, tears welling in the corners of her eyes. Mirajane frowned and look slightly hurt,

"What do you mean by that?" Mirajane asked, genuine confusion in her voice. By this time, Kendo had noticed the oppressive atmosphere and began feeling very uncomfortable.

"You're a killer! And Eirian is even worse. You should be on trial for war crimes, not working as security for our school. Everything you and EMC stand for is evil; bribery, coercion, its always the same. Now you stand in front of our class acting like some sort of moral authority, and I'm the only one that knows the truth." Momo was fully crying now, and Kendo was nearly sent into shock. She had no idea what Yaoyorozu was talking about, but she had stopped eating and was listening intently to the conversation. Mirajane changed her demeanour immediately. Her eyes darkened, and she looked like she was clenching her teeth with incredible strength.

"We are not murderers. We save lives. We have brought the earth into its first golden age since the manifestation of quirks. Eirian works harder than All Might when it comes to bringing peace, and he does it from the shadows. He is the most selfless man alive. It's rather unfair of you to judge us solely based on numbers you've found in a ledger. Your father is one of our most important partners. I'm not asking you to accept us, but can't you at least give us a chance? For your father?"

"There you go again! You realise that I can tell when you are threatening my father's job, right?"

"That was not my intention. I was merely pointing out that your father would like to see us get along. Your view of us has been tainted over years of exposure to the most regrettable aspects of careers. Did you know Eirian is haunted by horrible night terrors every time he goes to bed because of the things he has done, and cannot forget?" Momo sat for a long time and pondered what Mirajane had told her.

"He… regrets it?" Momo asked, her voice hitching slightly.

"Eirian is not a killer. He is a professional with a job to do. The circumstances surrounding the war's end are why we have ended our relationship with the United States. He's here in Japan too right his wrongdoings.

"I- it just seems too convenient, there just has to be something under the surface, an ulterior motive, a darker incentive."

"This time, there really isn't. We're putting our past in the past. And I know nothing would mean more to him than a chance to explain himself to you. Do you think you could at least spare him that?" Mirajane pleaded. Momo stopped and seemed to think for a long while. Could her perspective she had of her boogyman really have been the issue?

"I don't know, this is too much so fast, I need to think about it."

"Just your thinking about it is more than enough. It means a lot to us that you'd even consider giving us a chance to prove ourselves." Mirajane gave a sincere smile. Momo instinctively looked away from the women and noticed that Kendo was no longer there.

"It seems we've scared her off," Mirajane giggled lightly. The two remaining students had hardly eaten but seemed satisfied with the progress that was made. Momo left first, everything said during the meeting weighing heavily on her mind. Mirajane held back and breathed a sigh of relief. The Yaoyorozu family was a crucial asset to Eirian and his plan, and a good relationship with Momo would make everything much more manageable. Heart and minds and all that. After she paid the bill she stepped outside and pulled out her phone. She knew Eirian would have made it to Endeavor's agency by now, and was more than likely out on patrol with his old friend. She sent him a simple text, a 'thumbs up' emoji.

She stood on the street corner, reflecting on the conversation she just held. It went better than she had expected, but she couldn't help but think she could have done more to keep her cool. Her phone buzzed and she looked at it, expecting a reply from Eirian, but that is not what she saw. Instead, there was a text from Midoriya, with a location attached. She looked at the site in confusion, and when she opened it up in a maps application, she noticed it was in Hosu City. Her phone buzzed again and saw that it was from Eirian. The encoded message told her to get to Midoria's location ASAP, so she sprouted her wings and took off in the direction of Hosu.

* * *

Eirian was riding in the back of a car with Endeavor and Shoto, on their way to Hosu city. Endeavor had filled Eirian in on their hunt for the hero killer: Stain and the three sat in moderate silence. Suddenly, the car stopped, and the sounds of explosions filled the air. The three men exited the vehicle to see mayhem being brought down all around them. Horrible creatures were wreaking havoc, and Eirian froze. These were not the mutagens he was used to seeing back in the States, this was something different. These seemed calculated, engineered. These monsters were man-made. The three sprung into action to aid in the hero's relief efforts, but these creatures were strong. Eirian shouted, "what are these things?"

"There the same monsters that attacked us in the USJ." Eirian was surprised that it was Shoto that gave him an answer but took it in stride, aiding in the evacuation of the nearby civilians while Endeavor began the counter-offensive. Eirian's phone vibrated, 'Must be Mira, it'll have to wait,' but then a second vibration came, so he pulled his phone out. Midoriya had texted him his location, and by the looks of Shoto peering at his own phone, he too had received the message. Eirian ran to Shoto,

"Stay here, I'm going to find him," to which Shoto gave a curt nod. Eirian sprinted in the direction of the distress signal and texted mirajane, telling her to get there as soon as possible. Eirian turned down an alleyway to see a grizzly sight, a pro hero, Midoriya, and Ilda were all incapacitated, and Stain was readying his sword to strike down Ilda.

 **Cliffhanger! Really excited to get to work on the next chapter, which will cover the fight with Stain and the aftermath, so expect that soon. Please leave a review! This has been your friendly neighbourhood Diety, and I'll see you in the next one.**


	9. Internships Part II: Stain

Internships Part II: Stain

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

' _English Speech'_

Content Advisory: Suggestive themes and graphic depictions of violence and death.

Eirian leapt around the corner into the alleyway to a grizzly sight. A pro hero, Midoriya, and Ilda were all incapacitated, and Stain was raising his sword above his head to strike Ilda. Eirian used his robotic eye to grind his perception to nearly a halt. While everything moved in extreme slow motion, Eirian began furiously inspecting the situation. The first thing he noticed was that Ilda was losing blood from both his arms already, the pro hero was unconscious, but Ilda and Midoriya were both awake. Midoriya did not seem very injured, so Eirian deduced that some other force was preventing him from moving. Maybe Stain's quirk? Eirian shifted his gaze to the hero killer, who's sword inched towards Ilda at a snail's pace. Stain's body seemed to be covered with sheathed blades, something Eirian did not think could be a coincidence. He figured that Stain must have been accomplished as a swordsman to best all those pro heroes, but there had to be more to it than that. 'Whatever I do, I have to avoid those swords' were the last thought's of eirian before returning his perception to normal and funnelling his energy into a targeted fear attack.

Eirian's feet hit the ground, and Stain froze in place, blade inches above Ilda's back. Eirian wondered what Stain was seeing as the focused sound waves drove the hero killer back onto his rear. Eirian figured that the attack had had its effect and released Stain from his imprisonment. Stain took deep, raspy breaths as if he were not able to breathe at all while under Eirian's curse when he noticed the young man's presence.

"You! You're Eirian Howel, aren't you?" Stain said through gritted teeth.

"You recognize me, is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Eirian mocked.

"Your company is the most disgusting factory for greed I've ever seen. When I heard you were coming to Japan to break into the hero industry, I knew it had to be me to end your disgusting life, I want to watch the life leave your greedy, evil eyes!" Stain finished his monologue, which Eirian found rather dull, and charged at the semi-robotic man. Eirian dodged the swipe easily, as Izuku yelled out to him,

"Be careful! If he ingests any of your blood, you'll be paralyzed!"

"Got it, thanks!" EIrian replied as he sidestepped another blade aimed for his head. He returned by giving a powerful punch into Stain's abdomen. Midoriya found he was once again able to wiggle his fingers, and soon his whole hand. 'The quirk's effects must be wearing off!' he thought as his arms too regained mobility. Izuku slowly stood and activated Full Cowling 5%. Eirian noticed and shouted to him,

"Deku! Make sure Ilda and the pro are stable! I'll handle this joke," Eirian barked his orders while landing another blow on the villain. Stain jumped on the opportunity of his opponent's second of distraction and knicked Eirian's right arm with his blade. Stain jumped back and laughed maniacally.

"It's over for you, you disgusting pig!" Eirian looked down at the cut in his arm in horror as Stain licked the tip of his blade. Stain froze when he realized the Eirian was still standing, and still very much moving. Now that Stain thought of it, he didn't even taste any blood when he licked his sword. Eirian looked up and shouted,

"This is Armani!" Eirian mocked gayly and moved into a fighting stance.

Stain steeled himself and went in for his kill move, he threw his sword into the air to distract Eirian while he rushed in to deal a fatal blow. He knew he had made a grave mistake the second he jumped towards the young man. Eirian was not fooled by Stain's desperate move. As Stain approached him, Eirian had one eye looking up at the sword, and one eye glaring sinisterly right at Stain. This sight caused Stain to hesitate slightly, still barreling towards Eirian. Eirian reached out with his carbon-black hand and clutched Stain by the neck, once again pumping his fear-inducing acoustics into the villain. His other eye trained on the airborne blade, he reached up and grasped the hilt with his free hand as it tumbled through the air. He took the sword and thrust it true, the morbid sound of steel shredding flesh ringing out through the alleyway. Eirian let go of Stain's neck, and the hero killer looked down in shock. His own blade ran through his abdomen, Eirian still gripping the handle of the sword. Stain looked up at the man, his blood running cold at the sight. Eirian's face was splattered with blood, Stain's blood, and harboured a twisted, macabre, full-toothed grin. Eirian twisted the blade 90 degrees and pivoted on his heel, turning away from the hero killer. He used the rotating motion of the twist to drive the edge outwards, gutting the man and leaving him nearly cut in half. Blood and entrails hit the ground with a *SPLAT.* the fight was over.

Eirian's face shifted to one on shock as he looked down and realized what he had done. "Shit," Eirian mumbled as he turned ghost white. Midoriya blanched at the morbid sight. Eirian stood and looked at his handiwork with pure terror riding his face. He began gagging and threw up his dinner next to a dumpster, and stumbled his way to an unconscious Ilda. eirian pulled out a flask started messing with its top.

Eirian absentmindedly poured the black, viscous fluid out onto Ilda's wounds. "To stop the bleeding." He ensured that Ilda would remain stable until the proper authorities arrived and crawled over to the Pro Hero, who was also unconscious. He didn't notice any severe external injuries, so he would have to wait for the ambulance for any medical care. Personally, Eirian felt as if he were about to faint, but he was able to steel himself to ensure the safety of his protectorates.

"Have you called the police?" Eirian asked Midoriya as he rolled over and leaned up against the wall.

"Yes, they're on their way." As Midoriya gave his answer a winged being swooped down from the heavens. Mirajane retracted her bat-like wings as she landed and looked at the carnage, deducing what must have happened. She ran over to Eirian, grabbing onto his shoulders,

"Are you hurt? I'll call the lawyers, everything is going to be okay." Mirajane asked the ghostly white man as she pulled out her phone, quickly dialling a number and bringing the device to her ear.

"Eric, is that you? We need you and the rest of the team in Honsu, stat. I'll send you our exact location." Mirajane hung up the phone and began helping Eirian to his feet. Midoriya walked up to Mirajane and asked timidly,

"What's wrong with him? Is he going to be okay?" Izuku asked, real worry in his voice.

"He should be fine. It's been a long time since he's taken a life. He takes it pretty hard ever since Mex-" Mirajane paused and looked up at Midoriya, "Please forget what I just said. He'll be fine." Mirajane turned back to Eirian to console the young man.

Not five minutes later, Endeavor, police officers, EMT's, and other pro-heroes were on the scene. The pros and the cops were questioning Eirian and Midoriya, while the EMT's were tending to the wounds of Ilda and unconscious pro.

"I apologize, but I am unable to answer any further questions until my legal representation arrives," Eirian resolved himself and answered, holding Mirajane's hand tightly. The officer sighed,

"I'm afraid we're going to have to detain you and bring you back to the station, please put your hands behind your back," Eirian complied and held his head high, giving a nod in solidarity to Midorya as he began to be lead towards the officer's car. As he was entering the vehicle, a cry rang out. One of the Nomu creatures swooped down and snatched Midorya up in its gnarly claws.

' _Mira!'_ Eirian commanded before Mirajane sprung into action. Her wings spread wide and took off after the creature. She quickly caught up to the monster and delivered a precise and fatal blow to the beast by delving her extended, harpy-like nails into the exposed brain of the Nomu. The creature went lifeless immediately, its grip on Midoriya loosened, and the student was quickly tumbling towards the earth. Mirajane pushed off from the falling corpse and dove towards the plummeting form of Midoriya. She grabbed ahold of the boy's torso and spaned her wings, slowing their descent. They touched down softly, and Mirajane allowed Midoriya to stand on his own, albeit shakily at first.

* * *

The excitement seemed to have finally died down, and Eirian found himself handcuffed in the back of a cop car, speeding towards the Honsu police department for questioning. He had confidence that Mirajane would meet him there, legal team in tow, to help him out of the current situation. After the initial shock and adrenaline left his body, Eirian felt like shit. His head ached as the memory of gutting the villain continued to replay in his mind over and over again. Eirian had taken his fair share of lives, militarily, and otherwise, but ever since the end of the Mexican war, the ghosts of those whose lives he took haunted him endlessly. The faces of those who found their end at his hands infected his dreams, leaving him with night terrors. Eirian wondered, and worried, about the legal, and mental, repercussions of his action this night.

As Eirian was swimming within his own mind, he didn't even notice that the vehicle had reached its destination until an officer opened the door and began leading Eirian out. As he had expected, Mirajane was there waiting for his arrival, with no fewer than eight lawyers, including the head of EMC's legal department, Eric Walsh. Eric locked eyes with Eirian and dashed over.

' _Are you okay, Eirian? Mirajane told me what happened. Don't worry, we'll figure this out, we've dealt with worse in the past. Just leave it to the team and me.'_ The legal representative began spouting off, more than likely high off the coffee he chugged to function at such an hour. Eirian gave a simple nod in response and said under his voice,

'I'll _be in your care then.'_ Eric nodded in understanding and began questioning the police officers about the arrest, the rest of the legal team following closely behind, looking more like a family of ducks than an elite legal team.

In the end, Eirian was allowed only one representative into the interrogation room with him for questioning, so Eric found himself next to the young man, conversating with the cops.

"As I'm sure you know, my client acted extra-judiciously in the execution of the 'Hero Killer, Stain,'" he emphasized the last words, "Luckily, however, my client has many contracts with both UA high school and the Japanese Diet, which allow him to take such extreme actions in the name of safeguarding his protectorates." Eric slid over a manilla folder to the officer, who eyed its contents with furrowed brows.

After reading for a few minutes, the officer put down the files with an exasperated sigh, "Everything here seems to check out, but somethings not sitting right with me. Why would UA and the Diet approve of such a document? This basically reads like this kid can do almost anything he wants."

"I'm afraid that's between professor Nezu, the Japanese Diet, and EMC. I'm sure you could get some more information than I'm able to divulge through a formal request for information through the Diet. Are we free to leave?"

"I suppose so, but expect to hear back from us once we receive more information."

"I'm looking forward to it," Eric replied with a full-toothed grin as he stood up, Eirian following his lead. The duo left the building and entered a black car, which began making its way towards the hospital harbouring the injured from the preceding battle.

' _What the fuck were you thinking?!'_ Eric exploded at Eirian, who's blank expression was unnerving, but inwardly flinched at the explosion. ' _If not for those contracts, you'd be looking at excessive force, manslaughter, and unlawful quirk use at the very least! I wouldn't be surprised if they'd try you for murder!'_

Eirian replied flatly, ' _That is exactly why the contracts were put in place.'_

' _Eirian! You just can't go around merking people that get in your way, I thought you were trying to change!'_

' _I am, damn it!'_ Eirian finally raised his voice at the verbal abuse, ' _I got carried away! I have a lot more on my plate than your bitching, so sorry if I'm not receptive of your criticism.'_

Eric deflated into his seat. ' _Sorry, Eirian. I'm just trying to keep your, and the company's, best interest in mind.'_

' _I understand, but this is a conversation for a different time. We need to check on the injured,'_ Eirian told Eric as an awkward science permeated the cab. Eric did not take the apparent order lying down and continued to probe the young man.

' _What would your father say if he saw you now?'_

' _He would call me a monster. He would disown me as his son.'_ Eirian flawlessly replied, shocking Eric into momentary silence.

' _Right. Memories. Sorry Eirian, I didn't mean to-'_

' _I know. It's no fault of your own. I really am trying to change, but the weight of three lifetimes doesn't exactly make it easy.'_ Eric decided that it was best to remain silent for the rest of the journey, and soon they arrived at the hospital where Ilda, Midoriya, and the pro hero were being treated.

* * *

Midoriya awoke to the soft glow of early morning sun gently streaming into his hospital room. Attempting to recall the events of the prior evening while fighting off the morning grogginess, he looked around, noticing a figure sitting in a visitor's chair opposite from his bed. His eyes adjusted, and he wiped the sleep from his eyes. The frame moved, and Midoriya realized who it was.

Eirian sat hunched in the cheap hospital chair, looking how he felt. His arm and leg were detached, and a gaping hole disrupted his face where his eye usually sat. He was still wearing the same clothes as the previous night. His jacket draped on the back of his chair, and his white shirt untucked and splattered with dried blood. Eiran must have noticed Midoriya's lucidity, as looked up and asked,

"Hey man, how ya feeling?" His voice betrayed the informality of his words, as they left his mouth sounding horse and forced.

Midoriya sat up in his bed, locking gaze with the man, he replied in an equally strenuous voice,

"I'll be okay, how are Ilda and Native?"

"That's what the pros' name was? Seems kind of incentive." Eiran gave a weak smile,

"they're both fine. Knackered, but fine." Midoriya sagged in relief. "They're not who I'm worried about, though." A certain darkness entered Eirian's eye, and Midoriya blanched. Eirian reached down and picked up a forearm crutch. He tenderly raised from his seat and slowly, methodically, made his way to Midoriya's bedside. Once reaching his bed, he looked down at Midoriya with an indecipherable expression. Midoriya silently wondered why Eirian looked so beaten up, considering the relative ease he had dispensing Stain- oh. Stain. Midoriya looked at a gazing Eirian as the events of the night prior flooded back to the forefront of his mind.

"Y-y-you. Y-you killed him." Eirian's gaze broke at the sight of the terrified teenager and sighed.

"I'm really sorry you had to see that side of me last night, Midoriya. I suspect you're rather scared of what you saw." Midoriya stared in shock. "Here," Eirian placed a card on Izuku's bedside table, "This is my number, call me if you need to talk about anything. I can also get you in contact with a therapist if you like; I think it helps." Midoriya boke his stupor and asked, uncertainty oozing from his lips,

"I thought you already gave us your phone number?" Eirian smiled, happy that the young hero was talking again,

"Don't worry about the old number, this one is a secured line, and I only give to those who I know I can trust." Izuku was impacted by another wave of pure shock and began thinking furiously. Why did Eirian seem to trust him so much? What was the other number he gave the rest of the class? What did he mean by 'secure line?' his inner monologue continued until Eirian spoke up again.

"I trust that you will hold this line of communication with the utmost confidentiality?" The raspy, damaged voice from earlier now returned to its regular, stoical, voice and mannerisms. Izuku could do nothing more than nod, his eyes wide with a mix of emotions, most of them too tiring to be thinking about right now. Eirian's grizzled and scarred face gave a warm smile, The first since Izuku's awakening. He slowly stood up with the support of his crutch and began hobbling towards the door. Just before reaching for the door handle, Izuku squeaked,

"U-um, E-E-Erian?" Eirian smiled to himself and leaned against the door, turning himself to see the bedridden boy.

"W-what happened to you?" Izuku somehow managed to get out. The light in Eirian's eye dimmed for a moment, just long enough for Izuku to notice a shift, before Eirian replied,

"Call me sometime. This isn't a conversation to have in a hospital." Izuku reddened in embarrassment before he steeled himself and was able to reply,

"Sorry- and- thanks," Izuku replied with a sheepish grin, to which Eirian replied with a polite smile. Eirian finally found his way to the door handle to Izuku's room and left the hopeful hero alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Outside of the room, Eirian found Mirajane, All Might, and a man who had the face of a dog, someone who Eirian had learned was some big wig in the police department. All Might spoke up first, "How is he doing? It gave us at UA quite a fright to hear what had happened."

"Physically he's fine, mentally, I don't know. He should probably see a therapist. 16 is too young to face death like that." Eirian Grimmaced, "I know you see him as some sort of personal project, but make sure he has what he need in the coming weeks, how he handles this trauma could have an impact on him for the rest of his life." All Might nodded solemnly,

"Will you be checking in on Ilda?" All Might asked.

"No, he didn't see what happened, and that's probably for the better." The old hero nodded in silent agreement.

"You've really put us in a bind, Eirian," the dog-faced man spoke, not even attempting to hide the venom in his voice.

"As my legal team is not present, and my contract quite clear, I am under no obligation to speak with you." Eirian brushed off the man who, along with All Might, was stunned into silence. Eirian turned to face All Might once again, "Do you need anything else, Sensei?" He asked politely.

"No, I suppose you may go." All Might replied in the best mumble his large stature could muster.

"Thank you," Eirian replied earnestly before turning to look the dog-man in the eyes, "I'm in desperate need of a shower," Eirian smirked and accepted Mirajane's help into a wheelchair, before the duo finally made their way out of the hospital, and headed home.

* * *

Eirian sat motionlessly in a vessel that aligned more with 'small pool' than 'large bathtub' and let out a sigh of relief. There was a noise near the entrance of the spa area of his home and opened his eye to see Mirajane suggestively sauntering towards him, wearing nothing but a towel to cover her privacy. Eirian relaxed again and sunk deeper into the warm water as Mirajane slipped into the water beside him. He then felt the familiar sensation of Mirajane wrapping her arm around his back and resting her head on his shoulder. Eirian took a deep breath in and appreciated the sweet smell cascading into his nostrils from Mira's hair, and cherished the feeling of his lover's supple breasts pressed sensually against his body. The two sat in comfortable silence for what seemed like ages before Mirajane finally spoke.

' _That was a rough one.'_ Eirian subtly flinched, and Mirajane gave him a comforting squeeze.

' _Yeah, I wasn't expecting to have to deal with something like this so soon into our new life here. I can't even begin to describe how amazing it feels to get that equipment off of me after that.'_ Mirajane let out a deep sigh into Eirian's neck, causing the young man to shudder. She opened her eyes to observe her battle-hardened partner. He sat with his remaining eye closed, his only arm hanging limp at his side, and she knew that under the cloudy water, only one leg could be found. She looked closer at the scar tissue on his face, which was typically covered by the greater prosthetic surrounding his eye, and carefully studied the damage she had caused all those years ago. Eirian's eye opened slowly to Mirajane's face incredibly close to his, a slightly uncertain look on her face.

' _If you need anything-'_ Mirajane began to whisper before Eirian wrapped his around her, pulling her into his lap in a deep hug.

' _I've got everything I need right here.'_ Mirajane did her best not to react to the incredibly cheezy line as she leaned in towards Eirian's lips.

' _I love you.'_

' _I love you too.'_ The gap between the two vanished and spent the next few hours enjoying each other's company in the tub.

* * *

Eirian was still basking in the afterglow, enveloped in his most comfortable robe while enjoying a bitter drink near the fire, Miajane snuggled like a small dog in his lap when a knock on his study's door interrupted their bliss. Eirian groaned and gave the command for their interrupter to enter, and Sebas entered the room bowing deeply,

' _My deepest apologies for the disturbance, sir. Principal Nezu has requested a meeting first thing in the morning.'_ Eirian cringed at the thought of what Nezu would want from him but was calmed by Mirajane giving his hand a reaffirming squeeze.

' _What time has he requested an audience?'_ Eirian asked his servant.

' _Naught-Eight-Hundred. Should I confirm his request in the schedule?'_

' _Of course, better to get this over with than let it fester. I just hope he lets me keep my job.' Sebas's_ ice-gaze softened out of concern for his employer, something that did not happen often.

' _I will alert him of your acceptance, sir.'_ Eirian watched as his loyal butler turned to leave the room when he realized that Sebas seemed to be waiting for him.

' _Sebas, what time is it right now?'_ Eirian asked, fearing the answer.

' _Naught-seven-hundred, sir.'_

 **Wow, did I have a hard time writing this chapter. Every time I would try to write it, the tone came off wrong. Honestly, I'm not thrilled with this version of the chapter either, but for my own sanity, I have decided to post it as is in the hopes of returning to it at a later date. Hopefully, I won't get too stuck up with the upcoming chapters, and I will be able to update more regularly moving forward. As always, please review! This has been your friendly neighbourhood diety, and I'll see you in the next one.**


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